Ceramic armor

[1][2] Tests as early as 1918 demonstrated the potential of ceramic armor; Major Neville Monroe-Hopkins found that adding a thin layer of enamel to steel greatly improved its ballistic properties.

Ceramic armor designs range from monolithic plates to systems employing three dimensional matrices.

The entire system was held together with polyurethane foam and either thick aluminum, multi-layered UHMWPE, para-aramid fiber, or 30% PALF + 70% epoxy composite backing.

[2] Ceramic armor systems defeat small arms projectiles and kinetic energy penetrators by two main mechanisms: Shattering and erosion.

Against high-explosive anti-tank rounds, the ceramic elements break up the geometry of the metal jet generated by the shaped charge, greatly diminishing penetration.

Most ceramic plates used in body armor provide National Institute of Justice Type III protection, allowing them to stop rifle bullets.

Ceramic plates issued by the United States military are called Enhanced Small Arms Protective Inserts (ESAPI).

The approximate weight for one NIJ Level III ceramic armor plate is 4.4 to 8 pounds (2.0 to 3.6 kg) for the typical size of 10 by 12 inches (25 by 30 cm).

Dragon Skin body armor is one these systems, although it has failed numerous tests performed by the US Army, and has been rejected.

[6] The manufacture of array type systems with flex, consistent ballistic performance at edges of ceramic elements is an active area of research.