A one-dimensional stress wave analysis of a lightweight composite armour

Existing work in the literature has addressed the synthesis and analysis of lightweight composite armour, consisting of ceramic, polymer composite and metal foam layers. The aim of this paper is to apply classical one-dimensional stress wave theory to the analysis of the behaviour of the armour, due to an impact from a fragment simulating projectile. Good agreement between the results from the literature and the stress wave model, discussed here, is achieved, and the developed model is then used to gain insight into the effect of the variation of various parameters, e.g. layer material, layer thickness and impact velocity.