Materials for Soft and
Hard Armor Systems
Dr. Ronald G. Kander
Professor & Department Head
Integrated Science & Technology
The Washington Post
–
Baghdad, December 4, 2003
“Private First Class Gregory Stovall felt the explosion on his face. He was
standing in the turret of a Humvee, manning a machine gun, when the
roadside bomb went off. At the time, he was guarding a convoy of trucks
making a mail run. In an instant, Stovall’s face was perforated by shrapnel,
the index finger on his right hand was gone, and the
middle finger was hanging by a tendon. But the
22
-
year
-
old from Brooklyn remembers instinctively
reaching for his chest and stomach
—
“to make sure
everything was there,” he said. It was, encased in a
Kevlar vest reinforced by boron carbide ceramic
plates that are so hard they can stop AK
-
47 rounds
traveling 2,750 feet per second. Thus, on the morning
of November 4, Stovall became the latest in a long line
of soldiers serving in Iraq to be saved by the U.S.
military’s new Interceptor body armor.”
Presentation Outline
Background
Types of Systems
Materials/Mechanisms
Summary
•
Armor Systems in FCS Program
•
Materials in Armor Systems
•
Passive Systems
•
Soft Armor
•
Hard Armor
•
Reactive Systems
•
Explosive
•
Electromagnetic
•
Novel Concepts
•
Biomimetics
•
Nanomaterials
•
Material Selection & Design
•
Energy Absorption Mechanisms
•
Advantages/Disadvantages
•
Mobility/Reliability/Survivability
FCS Survivability Strategy
Detected
–
Signature Reduction
Acquired
–
Obscurants & Jammers
Hit
–
Decoys & Active Protection
Penetrated
–
Passive & Reactive Armor Systems
Killed
–
Spall Reduction & Fire Suppression
Don’t be
:
Armor Systems in FCS Program
“Because of the extraordinary
lethality of modern weapon
systems, many regard soldier
survivability as the most significant
challenge for the Future Combat
Systems Program.”
“Furthermore, weight, mobility, and
fuel consumption constraints no
longer allow designers to improve
protection by simply inserting more
traditional, heavier armor between
the soldier and the projectile.”
Colonel Brian R. Zahn, “The Future Combat System: Minimizing Risk While
Maximizing Capability”, USAWC Strategy Research Project, April 24, 2000.
The Weight Problem
The M1 Battle Tank (~70 tons)
The Bradley Fighting Vehicle (~35 tons)
Neither can be deployed on a C
-
130 (~20 tons)
Both rely on the C
-
5, C
-
17, or sealift for transport
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
1940
1950
1960
1970
1980
1990
2000
2010
2020
Year
Weight (tons)
M48
M60
M60A1
M60A2
M60A3
M1
M1A1
M1A2
M1A2(SEP)
The FCS Challenge
FCS
LTC Marion H. Van Fosson, “Briefing on the Future Combat Vehicle”, PM Future Combat Vehicle, Oct. 6, 1999.
Armor Systems Challenge
Mobility
Reliability
Survivability
Materials Selection
and Design
Light Weight
Robust
High
Performance
Types of Armor Systems
Passive Systems
soft armor
hard armor
Reactive Systems
explosive
electromagnetic
Novel Concepts
biomimetics
nanomaterials
Materials
Selection
Design
Parameters
Energy
Absorption
Mechanisms
Passive Systems
Soft Armor
aramid (Kevlar
®
)
polyethylene (Spectra
®
)
fiberglass (S
-
2)
polyester, nylon, etc.
Hard Armor
ceramics
metals
composites
Hybrid Systems
Soft Armor Systems
Fiber
Composition
Arial
Density
System
Design
Fiber
Denier
Fabric
Weave
Soft Armor Systems:
Damage Accumulation Mechanism
www.nist.gov/public_affairs/ licweb/speeding.htm
Hard Armor Systems
Ceramics
Metals
Polymers
Composites
Hard Armor Systems
“Materials Research to Meet 21
st
Century Defense Needs”, National
Research Council, National Academies Press, Washington DC, 2004.
Hard Armor Systems:
Damage Accumulation Mechanism
Energy Absorbed (J)
E S V
Specific Energy Absorption (J/m
3
)
Damaged Volume (m
3
)
Hard Armor Systems:
Damage Accumulation Mechanism
Crack Initiation
Crack Propagation
Crack Deflection
Phase Transformation
Fiber Breakage
Fiber Pull
-
Out
Bond Breakage
Cavitation
Viscoelastic Response
www.firstdefense.com/ html/default_faqs.htm
Transparent Armor Systems
Aluminum Oxynitride (AlON)
Magnesium Aluminate (spinel)
Aluminum Oxide (sapphire)
Glass/Polycarbonate Laminates
www.firstdefense.com/ html/default_faqs.htm
Passive Systems:
Improvement Potential
“Materials Research to Meet 21
st
Century Defense Needs”, National
Research Council, National Academies Press, Washington DC, 2004.
Passive Systems:
Improvement Potential
“Materials Research to Meet 21
st
Century Defense Needs”, National
Research Council, National Academies Press, Washington DC, 2004.
Reactive Systems
Explosive
sandwich construction
explosive core
oblique impact
disrupts penetration
Electromagnetic
sandwich construction
charged plates w/air gap
magnetic field generated
magneto hydrodynamics
Reactive Systems
Explosive Armor
Developed in the late 1970’s
Implemented in the early 1980’s
US implementation in the mid 1980’s
Impressive mass efficiency
Less effective against high
-
velocity threats
and on lightly armored vehicles
Less robust vs. passive systems
Reactive Systems
Electromagnetic Armor
Envisioned in the late 1970’s
Unclassified research through the 1990’s
Electrothermal Armor
Similar in concept to EM armor
Thin insulating core (vs. large air gap)
Explosive expansion (like explosive armor)
Large power requirements using existing technology
Novel Armor Concepts
Soft/Hard Hybrid Systems
elastomeric composites
Biomimetic Systems
nanostructured materials
“Materials Research to Meet 21
st
Century Defense Needs”, National
Research Council, National Academies Press, Washington DC, 2004.
Biomimetic Nanostructures
Biology
Materials
Science
Nanostructures
Design of Bioinspired
Structural Materials
Biomimetic Nanostructures
“Materials Research to Meet 21
st
Century Defense Needs”, National
Research Council, National Academies Press, Washington DC, 2004.
“Materials like bone, teeth, and shells are
simultaneously hard, strong, and tough and have
unique hierarchical structural motifs originating at
the nanometer scale. Mimicking such designs
should lead to very strong, tough materials usable
in lightweight armor for both warfighters and
vehicles. It could also be used for mechanical
system components.”
Spicule: Sponge Fiber
Mehmet Sarikaya, et. al, “Biomimetics: Nanomechanical Design of Materials Through Biology”, 15th
ASCE Engineering Mechanics Conference, Columbia University, June 2002.
Nacre: Mother
-
of
-
Pearl
Mehmet Sarikaya, et. al, “Biomimetics: Nanomechanical Design of Materials Through Biology”, 15th
ASCE Engineering Mechanics Conference, Columbia University, June 2002.
“Materials Research to Meet 21
st
Century Defense Needs”, National
Research Council, National Academies Press, Washington DC, 2004.
Functionally Gradient Materials
Mehmet Sarikaya, et. al, “Biomimetics: Nanomechanical Design of Materials Through Biology”, 15th
ASCE Engineering Mechanics Conference, Columbia University, June 2002.
High Performance Fibers
Spider Silk
Researchers have recently
been able to splice the
genes for spider silk into
cells from a variety of other
organisms that, when
grown in tissue culture,
produce material that can
be spun into silk threads.
The group plans to transfer
the genes to goats that
have been bred to produce
the silk in their milk.
“Materials Research to Meet 21
st
Century Defense Needs”, National
Research Council, National Academies Press, Washington DC, 2004.
Nanostructured Materials
“Today, nanomaterials are barely more than a
laboratory curiosity. Usually, only small quantities of
material can be produced, and production is
generally measured in hours or days. If
nanomaterials are to become widely applied, it will
be essential to address the challenge of scaling up
their production to macroscopic quantities while
retaining the performance properties of the small
samples currently available.”
“Materials Research to Meet 21
st
Century Defense Needs”, National
Research Council, National Academies Press, Washington DC, 2004.
Modeling & Simulation
Real World
Problem
Real
Model
Mathematical
Model
Conclusions
© Daniel Maki & Maynard Thompson; Indiana University
Computer
Model
Simplify
Abstract
Calculate
Interpret
Program
Simulate
Advantages
Save
Testing
Save
Money
Save
Time
Modeling
&
Simulation
Steel vs. Hybrid Armor Simulation
Dale S. Preece & Vanessa S. Berg, “Bullet Impact on Steel and Kevlar®/Steel Armor
-
Computer
Modeling and Experimental Data”, Sandia National Laboratories, ASME Pressure Vessels and Piping
Conference Symposium on Structures Under Extreme Loading, San Diego, July 2004.
Steel Results
Dale S. Preece & Vanessa S. Berg, “Bullet Impact on Steel and Kevlar®/Steel Armor
-
Computer
Modeling and Experimental Data”, Sandia National Laboratories, ASME Pressure Vessels and Piping
Conference Symposium on Structures Under Extreme Loading, San Diego, July 2004.
Hybrid Results
Hybrid Results
Dale S. Preece & Vanessa S. Berg, “Bullet Impact on Steel and Kevlar®/Steel Armor
-
Computer
Modeling and Experimental Data”, Sandia National Laboratories, ASME Pressure Vessels and Piping
Conference Symposium on Structures Under Extreme Loading, San Diego, July 2004.
Summary of Presentation
Mobility
Reliability
Survivability
Materials Selection
and Design
Light Weight
Robust
High
Performance
Summary of Presentation
Passive Systems
soft armor
hard armor
Reactive Systems
explosive
electromagnetic
Novel Concepts
biomimetics
nanomaterials
Modeling & Simulation
Materials
Selection
Design
Parameters
Energy
Absorption
Mechanisms
What does the future hold?
“Computers in the future may
weigh no more than 1.5 tons.”
—
Popular Mechanics, 1949
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