Penetration resistance of Al2O3 ceramic-ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) composite armor: Experimental and numerical investigations

•Analyzed the penetration resistance of Al2O3 ceramic-UHMWPE composite armor through experimental and numerical simulations.•Identified a positive correlation between projectile core and ceramic fragmentation degree and the overall ballistic performance of the composite armor.•Demonstrated that an optimal thickness ratio of 10 mm Al2O3 + 8 mm UHMWPE maximizes energy absorption, improving efficiency by 13.48%.•Explored the impact of different UHMWPE cover layer thicknesses on armor performance, finding that a 4 mm cover layer enhances energy absorption by 27.11%. To enhance the protective performance of ceramic composite armor, ballistic penetration experiments were conducted on Al2O3 ceramic-ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) composite armor with different thickness configurations. The damage and failure modes of hard projectiles and ceramic-fiber composite targets were analyzed. The recovered projectiles and ceramic fragments were sieved and weighed at multiple stages, revealing a positive correlation between the degree of fragmentation of the projectiles and ceramics and the overall ballistic resistance of the composite targets. Numerical simulations were performed using the LS-DYNA finite element software, and the simulation results showed high consistency with the experimental results, confirming the validity of the material parameters. The results indicate that the projectile heads primarily exhibited crushing and abrasive fragmentation. Larger projectile fragments mainly resulted from tensile and shear stress-induced failure. The failure modes of the composite targets included the formation of ceramic cones and radial cracks under high-velocity impacts. The UHMWPE laminated plates exhibited interlayer separation caused by tensile waves, permanent plastic deformation of the rear surface bulging, and perforation failure primarily due to shear forces.Through extended numerical simulations, while maintaining the same areal density and configuration of 9 mm Al2O3 ceramic +12 mm UHMWPE laminated composite armor, the thickness configurations of the Al2O3 ceramic and UHMWPE laminated backplates were varied, and various thicknesses of UHMWPE laminates were simulated as the cover layer for the ceramic panels. The simulation results indicated that the composite armor configuration of 10 mm Al2O3 ceramic + 8 mm UHMWPE composite armor increased energy absorption by 13.48%. When altering the cover layer thickness, a 4 mm UHMWPE + 9 mm Al2O3 + 8 mm U