Composite armor plate and ceramic bodies for use therein

1. A composite armor plate for absorbing and dissipating kinetic energy from high-velocity projectiles, said plate comprising:

a single internal layer of pellets which are bound and retained in plate form by a solidified elastic material, substantially internally within said solidified elastic material, such that the pellets are bound in a plurality of spaced-apart rows and columns, said pellets being made of ceramic material, and said pellets being substantially fully embedded in the solidified elastic material so that the pellets form an internal layer,

wherein said solidified elastic material and said plate are elastic,

wherein a majority of each of said pellets is in direct contact with six adjacent pellets in a same layer to provide mutual lateral confinement between the pellets, each of said pellets including:

a body having a substantially regular geometric cross-sectional area; and

first and second end faces, each of said first and second end faces projecting from said body and having an outwardly decreasing cross-sectional area,

wherein a height of projection from the body of one of the first and second end faces disposed substantially opposite to an outer impact receiving major surface of said plate is less than 15% of a length of a diameter of the body from which it projects, and

wherein the height of projection from the body of the one of the first and second end faces disposed substantially opposite to the outer impact receiving major surface is less than a height of projection from the body of the other of the first and second end faces that comprises an impact receiving end face of said pellet.

2. A composite armor plate according to claim 1 , wherein the one of the first and second end faces disposed substantially opposite to the outer impact receiving major surface is spherical.

3. A composite armor plate according to claim 2 , wherein the one of the first and second end faces disposed opposite said impact receiving major surface is convexly curved and wherein a ratio D/R between the diameter of the body and a radius of curvature of the one of the first and second end faces disposed opposite said outer impact receiving major surface is between about 0.28:1 and 0.639:1.

4. A composite armor plate according to claim 1 , wherein the one of the first and second end faces disposed substantially opposite to the outer impact receiving major surface is in a form of an outwardly tapered truncated cone.

5. A composite armor plate according to claim 1 , wherein a majority of said pellets have at least one convexly-curved end face oriented to substantially face in a direction of the outer impact receiving major surface.

6. A composite armor plate according to claim 1 , wherein said pellets have at least one axis of at least 9 mm.

7. A composite armor plate according to claim 1 , wherein said pellets have at least one axis of at least 20 mm.

8. A composite armor plate according to claim 1 , wherein each of said pellets is formed of a ceramic material selected from the group consisting of sintered oxide, nitrides, carbides and borides of alumina, magnesium, zirconium, tungsten, molybdenum, titanium and silica.

9. A composite armor plate according to claim 1 , wherein each of said pellets is formed of a material selected from the group consisting of alumina, boron carbide, boron nitride, titanium diboride, silicon carbide, silicon oxide, silicon nitride, magnesium oxide, silicon aluminum oxynitride and mixtures thereof.

10. A composite armor plate according to claim 1 , wherein said solidified elastic material and said plate comprise elastic.

11. A composite armor plate according to claim 1 , wherein a plurality of said pellets have a channel extending inwardly from said one of the first and second end faces disposed opposite said outer impact receiving major surface to reduce the weight per area thereof.

12. A composite armor plate according to claim 11 , wherein said channel occupies a volume of up to 25% of said pellet.

13. A pellet for use in a composite armor plate for absorbing and dissipating kinetic energy from high-velocity projectiles, said pellet comprising:

a body; and

first and second end faces, each of said end faces projecting from said body and having an outwardly decreasing cross-sectional area,

wherein a height of projection from the body of one of the first and second end faces disposed substantially opposite to an outer impact receiving end face of said pellet is less than 15% of a length of a diameter of the body from which it projects,

wherein the height of projection from the body of the one of the first and second end faces disposed substantially opposite to the outer impact receiving end face is less than a height of projection from the body of the outer impact receiving end face, and

wherein the pellet is made of a ceramic material and has a substantially regular geometric cross-sectional area.

14. A composite armor plate for absorbing and dissipating kinetic energy from high-velocity projectiles, said plate comprising:

a single internal layer of pellets which are bound and retained in plate form by a solidified elastic material, substantially internally within said solidified elastic material, such that the pellets are bound in a plurality of spaced-apart rows and columns, said pellets being made of ceramic material, and said pellets being substantially fully embedded in the solidified elastic material so that the pellets form an internal layer,

wherein said solidified elastic material and said plate are elastic,

wherein a majority of each of said pellets is in direct contact with six adjacent pellets in the same layer to provide mutual lateral confinement between the pellets, each of said pellets including:

a body having a substantially regular geometric cross-sectional area, the body being cylindrical, and

first and second end faces, each of said first and second end faces projecting from said body and having an outwardly decreasing cross-sectional area

wherein one of the first and second end faces disposed substantially opposite to an outer impact receiving major surface of said plate is spherical,

wherein a height of projection from the body of the one of the first and second end faces disposed substantially opposite to said outer impact receiving major surface is less than 15% of a length of a diameter of the body from which it projects,

wherein a ratio between the diameter of the body and a radius of curvature of said one of the first and second end faces is about 0.28:1 and 0.639:1, and

wherein the height of projection from the body of the one of the first and second end faces disposed substantially opposite to the outer impact receiving major surface is less than a height of projection from the body of the other of the first and second end faces that comprises an impact receiving end face of said pellet.