Experimental and numerical research on ballistic performance of carbon steels and cold worked tool steels with and without Titanium Nitride (TiN) coating

It is extremely important to be aware of the ballistic performances of engineering materials in order to be able to choose the lightest armor providing full ballistic protection in civil and military applications. Therefore, ballistic tests are an important part of armor design process. In this study, ballistic performance of plates made of carbon steel and cold worked tool steel against 7.62 mm AP (armor-piercing) bullets was examined experimentally and numerically in accordance with NIJ standards. Samples in different sizes were prepared to demonstrate the effect of target thickness on ballistic performance. Some of these samples were coated with titanium nitride using physical vapor deposition (PVD) method. After examining all successful and unsuccessful samples at macro and micro levels, factors affecting ballistic performance were determined. Explicit non-linear analyses were made using Ls-Dyna software in order to confirm physical ballistic test results. It was observed that the ballistic features of steel plates used in simulations comply with actual physical test results.