The global political map has changed over the last 15 years leading to changes in the demands on defence and security services. Military tactics for these new theatres now rely heavily on high technology solutions with increasing use of automation for large scale operations. This is not the full story however and infantry personnel increasingly find themselves in close quarters and policing operations where they are exposed to small arms, shrapnel and sniper threats.

Lightweight ceramic armour was developed for personnel, aircraft, and vehicle protection in these close combat and policing situations and has proved itself time and again against high velocity and armour piercing rounds. Its improved performance and light weight has also made it popular with non military personnel who by are placed in similar situations such as police and the press. Globally over 5 million units were manufactured in 2004 in a market worth £800 million [c.f. NATO total defence budget for 2005 was £330 billion].

Ceramic armour is a composite system incorporating fibre reinforced polymer composites as well as hard ceramic plates to defeat the ballistic projectile. Most of the energy of the projectile is absorbed in fracturing the ceramic tile. The remaining energy is absorbed by the composite backing which contains the remnants of the projectile and the ceramic debris.

The keys to high performance ceramic armour include good ceramic properties such as hardness and stiffness coupled with the ability to work harden under extreme stress. These properties combine to increase the impact duration allowing the ceramic to progressively damage the projectile and absorb its kinetic energy. Ceramic armour systems are designed to be able to withstand multiple hits and are normally specified to NIJ level III or IV standards.

We have extensive experience in the development of materials and fabrication processes for ceramic armour systems including slip casting, pressure casting, hot pressing, hot isostatic pressing (HIP) and sintering for

• Alumina (Al2O3)
• Silicon Carbide (SiC)
• Boron Carbide (B4C)
• Titanium Diboride (TiB2)
• Zirconia toughened alumina (ZTA)

Related Resources:

• Hot Isostatic Pressing
• Modelling