Examining the effect of nano-additions of rare earth elements on the hardness of body armor ceramic

Abstract

Body armor is a very critical entity in protecting soldier's live. Soldiers carry heavy stuff on duties, and the ceramic insert in those body armors is one of them. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of Nano-rare-earth elements as additives to the ceramic base material on the armor's performance. Aluminum oxide (Al₂O₃) has been selected as the base material of the ceramic in this study. This study has chosen two additives: Zirconium dioxide (ZrO₂) and Nano-ceramic lab composite (NCLC). In this work, we have presented results of mechanical characterization for alumina-nanocomposites armor plates. Three different concentrations of NCLC and ZnO₂ alumina-based compositions have been prepared and pressed at 40 and 50 MPa and sintered at 1350^°C for 120 min. X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) techniques have been employed to characterize structural, morphological, and phase identification of the films. Mohs test hardness measurements of samples after sintering have been performed. Results have shown that the compositions with NCLC showed a higher hardness than a composition with ZrO₂. This result has indicated that the addition of NCLC to Alumina enhances the microstructure and increases the ceramics' hardness.