ABSTRACT
This chapter provides the summary of the published results from the author's group on the development of functionally graded materials for armor applications. In the context of armor applications, if the ceramic gets shattered upon impact of a projectile, there exists further abrading of the projectile by pulverized particles. Ballistic efficiency is defined as the ability to resist projectile penetration, and for armor applications, materials with high ballistic efficiency are preferred. The primary factors, which affect the ballistic performance of a ceramic, are density, internal friction, and compression strength. The design for an advanced armor system should consider the desirable properties, such as resistance against large impact load. For armor applications, one of the performance-limiting properties is the dynamic compression strength, which can be measured at high strain rates. For other engineering applications, the strength property is determined using quasi-static tension/compression tests.
