Abstract: Composite inserts made of ceramics and fibers are widely used for body armors due to their high impact-resistance. In this paper, the influence of forming pressure on the efficacy of B₄C ceramic-aramid prepreg bulletproof was studied by bullet target test. It is found that the B₄C ceramic-aramid composite insert can usually withstand the impact of one or two bullets, showing pretty good ability of bulletproofing. Our experiment also reveals that high-pressure leads to a harder plate, which reduces the depth of the depression by the bullet. Whereas, low-pressure leads to higher tensile strength and stretch ability of the plate, which reduces the probability of penetrating. Our work has applicative significance in the fabrication of high-performance ceramic-fiber composite body armor inserts.

Key words: boron carbide, aramid prepreg, ballistic insert plate, bulletproof performance, composites