| Canadian Forces personnel and vehicles are exposed to ballistic hazards during operational deployments. Additional armor can be placed on the vehicles to reduce this hazard, however, the additional weight of the armor will reduce the effective combat load of the vehicle. The task is to reduce the additional weight of the add-on armor while maximizing the ballistic protection. Silicon carbide has a superior ballistic performance in comparison to an equivalent metallic armor attached on the vehicles. The aim of this investigation is to determine if the fabrication of silicon carbide ceramic tiles by sintering without pressure has ballistic and economic advantages.; The investigation is in two parts, the fabrication of ballistic tiles using pressureless sintering, and the evaluation of the ballistic performance of these tiles in comparison to tiles presently available. The manufacturing process is to mix yttrium and aluminum oxides with silicon carbide, thereby reducing the sintering temperature required by the silicon carbide. The ballistic performance was determined by the Defence Research Establishment Valcartier (DREV), in the small caliber laboratory. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)... |
