The effect of TiC addition and T6 heat treatment on ballistic properties of AA7075 reinforced composites through squeeze casting process

Armour Protection is a crucial factor in the military by helping holding penetration from bullets to prevent injury or even death. In this era, a tank's mobility is limited. Tanks are generally made of high strength steel with 7.86 g/cm3.it made standard tanks weigh 35-80 tons. That made the tank's mobility limited. Thus RHA is needed to be replaced by other lightweight bulletproof materials for the tanks. The materials that meet these criteria are metal matrix composite, especially aluminum matrix, because of the low density, high mechanical properties, and good corrosion resistance. AA7075 is a suitable material for use in a combat vehicle. AA7075 is one of the strongest aluminum alloys. This alloy will be reinforced with TiC with weight variations of 0.1%, 0.2%, and 0.3%. In this research, the composite fabrication process is by squeeze casting method followed by heat treatment of T6 at 470 °C for two hours, water quench, and artificial aging at 120 °C for one hour. The plates are divided by Heat treatment process and non-heat treatment process. The results show that all the samples could withstand bullet penetration from the type II ballistic test but not Type III. With 0.2% TiC HT has better ballistic performance, the ballistic performance is increased with more reinforcement added. While a decreased value is present from 0.2% to 0.3%. Heat treatment given to the sample increases the Hardness, impact toughness, and ballistic toughness.