Parameters of the behind armor protrusion in the not penetrating of a ceramic body armor

The features of the formation of the rear deformation of the armored panel as the main mechanism for the development of an armored person’s armor injury protected by a bullet-proof vest during non-penetration using the modern research method - high-speed video filming are investigated. An analysis of the combat pathology of modern military conflicts has shown that a hit of an injuring element in a body of a serviceman protected by body armor can lead to injury to him, which differs in a number of indicators from a «classic» gunshot injury. These injuries are commonly referred to as behind armor blunt trauma in foreign literature or closed localized contusion injury in domestic sources. Closed injury of this etiology can manifest itself in the form of injuries of the skin and subcutaneous tissue with the formation of hemorrhages, and in injuries of internal organs, accompanied in severe cases by ruptures of the liver and lungs with the development of life-threatening complications – intense pneumothorax, intraperitoneal bleeding, etc. In the course of conducting experimental research, it was shown that the design of modern body armor allows effectively countering their penetration by most of the bullets of modern small arms ammunition, but does not completely level the magnitude of the impact pulse transmitted through armor to the protected object. The differences in the physical processes of the formation of rear deformation, which can lead to a direct deformation of a bulletproof vest in the case of «soft» armor based on ballistic fabrics, and to deformation with destruction in «hard» armor made of a ceramic composition are revealed. With the help of high-speed video filming of the impact of the striking element on the armor panel, the features of the behavior of the protective composition were visualized in time. The main amplitude – time parameters of the process of formation of the rear deformation (bulge) corresponding to the 2nd pressure peak in gelatin blocks and causing a local impact, characterizing the development of the temporary cavity that directly influences the severity of closed localized contusion injury, were evaluated. It is proved that the analysis of the characteristics of the subsequent process of movement of the armor plate itself, which leads to the action of a «distributed» impact on the torso, allows us to estimate the possible impact force of the entire armor panel on the object of protection and predict its biological consequences in the form of a blunt-injury blunt injury.