Considerations on Dop (Depth Of Penetration) Test for Evaluation of Ceramics Materials Used in Ballistic Protection

Tremendous amount of funds and other resorces were invested in studying the response of ceramic materials under ballistic impact, the main goal being to find a way to increase the protection of soldiers and the vehicles used in the modern battlespace. Using of ceramic materials especially carbon based (carbides), nitrogen based (nitrides) and oxygen based (oxides) ceramics in order to increase the protection level of ballistic equipment could be, sometimes, a big challenge when trying to use the proper test in order to evaluate and compare their performances. The role of the tests is to provide a better understanding of their response in different situations and, as a consequence, to make them more efficient as armour components through future improvements. The paper presents shortly the main tests which are used and eventually standardised for evaluating the ballistic behaviour of the ceramics and other armour components, with a special focus to DOP (Depth of Penetration) Tests.