Eur. Phys. J. Special Topics 206, 71-77 (2012)
https://doi.org/10.1140/epjst/e2012-01588-0

Regular Article

Shockless spalling damage of alumina ceramic

CEA, DAM, GRAMAT, 46500 Gramat, France

^a e-mail: benjamin.erzar@cea.fr

Received: 15 November 2011
Revised: 13 March 2012
Published online: 7 May 2012

Abstract

Ceramic materials are commonly used to build multi-layer armour. However reliable test data is needed to identify correctly models and to be able to perform accurate numerical simulation of the dynamic response of armour systems. In this work, isentropic loading waves have been applied to alumina samples to induce spalling damage. The technique employed allows assessing carefully the strain-rate at failure and the dynamic strength. Moreover, specimens have been recovered and analysed using SEM. In a damaged but unbroken specimen, interactions between cracks has been highlighted illustrating the fragmentation process.