Enabling High-Velocity Impact Resistance in Nacre-Like Ceramic-Metal Composites

  • Raza, Wajahat (University of Science and Technology of China)
  • Wu, Kaijin (University of Science and Technology of China)
  • Wang, Zewen (University of Science and Technology of China)
  • He, Linghui (University of Science and Technology of China)
  • Yong, Ni (University of Science and Technology of China)

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Bioinspired nacre-like ceramic-metal composites are expected to develop lightweight impact-resistant armor, yet their performance under high-velocity impact remains unclear. This work evaluates nacre-like architectures with different brick topologies under high-velocity loading. Our simulations reveal that nacre-like structures with triangular bricks maintain superior impact resistance over a wide velocity range, whereas rectangular brick designs underperform compared to bilayer ceramic-metal plates beyond a critical velocity. The improved performance is enabled by effective energy dissipation through internal plastic deformations, brick crushing, interlocking, and sliding friction. A hybrid composite design integrating nacre-like wavy architectures with bilayer plate structure is proposed to achieve optimal protection across a wider impact-velocity regime. These results provide practical design guidance for advanced ceramic-metal armor systems.