Triggering radial back face fracture of additively manufactured ceramic tiles

Additive manufactured silicon carbide samples were subjected to spherical impact to induce radial back face cracks. The corresponding critical impact velocity for the chosen projectile-target configuration will be calculated and depends on the ceramic’s biaxial flexural strength, which is unknown for the materials under consideration. Experimental and numerical work will be performed in parallel to determine this parameter. The experimental setup comprises a gas-driven launcher, an aluminium spherical projectile, and the ceramic target in a hardened steel confinement. Several numerical modelling strategies are performed in LS-DYNA software and validated with experimental results.