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Ceramic Armor Amongst the many ceramic armor applications are helicopter armoring, small boat armor, aircraft cockpit armor, police armor, armored wing panels, ceramic body armor, deep water vessel armor and vehicle armoring systems. Since some ceramics can be as much as five times stronger than steel and as much as 70% lighter, ceramic armor has better protective capabilities as well as fewer difficulties in being worn during combat because it will do less to fatigue the wearer than heavier materials. In addition, ceramic armor can protect the wearer or object from ball and armor piercing threats from a typical range of 5.56 to 12.7 mm. Ceramic armor is commonly made from three different, strong materials: aluminum oxides, boron carbides and silicon carbides. Aluminum oxides are high-density and have extremely high-volume, multi-facility production capacities. Boron carbides are the highest strength as well as the lightest-weight and lowest density. Silicon carbides have high strength in addition to low density and high shock resistance. Ceramic armor falls into two categories: ceramic body armor and ceramic armor plates. Both are formed during the same initial process. Raw ceramic materials come in the form of a powder, but a liquid additive such as water is often used before processing. In order to form ceramic armor plates, the liquid material is hot-pressed in a ceramic kiln at 4000ºF. The ceramic material is then formed into desired shapes known as greenware, which are then placed in an extremely high heat oven and sintered. This process forms ceramic plate armor, which can then be used on its own or it can be inserted into a soft ballistic vest, or a backing, and made into ceramic body armor. The backing can be made from polypropylene or aramid and keeps the ceramic in compression as well as catching any potential projectile fragments. The ceramic plates or inserts are so hard that they either blunt the nose of the projectile or break it. Ceramic armor cracks upon impact, which dissipates the kinetic force of the projectile from the individual and stops injury. However, the cracking of the armor is also a disadvantage because each crack weakens the armor.
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