US 6,805,034 B1 · Silicon carbide armor bodies, and methods for making same

Abstract

Silicon infiltration technology is used to produce ceramic bodies having utility as ballistic armor. In a first aspect of the invention, the ballistic armor includes a reaction-bonded silicon carbide body (RBSC). Good ballistic performance can be advanced by loading the permeable mass or preform to be infiltrated to a high degree with one or more hard fillers, and by limiting the size of the largest particles making up the mass. In a second aspect, the silicon infiltration technology, e.g., siliconizing or reaction-bonding, is used to bond silicon carbide fibers to at least the back surface of a ceramic armor body, thereby enhancing ballistic stopping power. A third aspect of the invention pertains to the ability to engineer RBSC bodies such that there is little dimensional change during processing, thereby permitting high dimensional reproducibility in large-scale production.

Claims21

Dependent claims

A ballistic armor, comprising a ceramic layer and a backing layer attached to said ceramic layer;

the ceramic layer comprising a composite body comprising a reinforcement phase and a matrix phase;
wherein the reinforcement phase comprises at least one hard ceramic filler material distributed throughout the matrix phase;
wherein the matrix phase comprises silicon carbide;
wherein the reinforcement phase and the matrix phase each possess a microstructure consisting of morphological features, and wherein at least 90 percent by volume of said morphological features are smaller than about 100 microns in size;
and
wherein the reinforcement phase and the matrix phase make up at least 70 percent by volume of the composite body.

3 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Silicon carbide armor bodies, and methods for making same

Life of this patent

Silicon carbide armor bodies, and methods for making same

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims21