Metallographic Examinations on Quenched and Tempered Steels Subjected to Ballistic Impact


Atapek Ş. H., Zeytin H., Polat Ş., Güven G.

Journal of Dynamic Behavior of Materials, vol.3, no.3, pp.426-435, 2017 (Scopus) identifier

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Volume: 3 Issue: 3
  • Publication Date: 2017
  • Doi Number: 10.1007/s40870-017-0124-4
  • Journal Name: Journal of Dynamic Behavior of Materials
  • Journal Indexes: Scopus
  • Page Numbers: pp.426-435
  • Keywords: Adiabatic shear bands, Armor steels, Failure, Microstructure
  • Kocaeli University Affiliated: Yes

Abstract

© 2017, Society for Experimental Mechanics, Inc.In this study, quenched and tempered steels used as armor material were perforated using a 7.62 mm armor piercing projectile. Steel plates having a thickness of 12.7 mm were solution annealed at 1000/1020 °C for 60/90 min, quenched in water/oil and tempered at 200/540/600 °C for 60 min. Shots were performed at zero degree with a projectile velocity of 835–845 m/s. After the shots, samples taken from the perforated regions were prepared with standard metallography methods and microstructural examinations were carried out using both light and scanning electron microscopes. The variation of hardness was determined along the projectile perforation path. It was concluded that (a) the steel matrices had tempered bainitic–martensitic structures after heat treatments, (b) within the matrices, deformation of grains was higher in the initial stage of the perforation compared to the final stage, (c) friction-induced martensitic zones in addition to deformed and transformed adiabatic shear bands having higher hardness than those of steel matrices were observed caused by the advancement of projectile, (d) these adiabatic shear bands had an effect on the crack propagation, and (e) perforation mode of the steels was a typical petalling.