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When designing armor capable of stopping a ball, the two most important factors are weight and resistance to penetration. They often disagree. A thick steel plate can stop many projectiles, but at some point the weight becomes impractical for most applications.
Today, new research on a new type of material is promising both as an option for powerful protection and a lighter replacement of heavy metal plates. It is a composite metal foam that can save weight, but seems to offer protection similar to that of solid steel. It could be the next big thing in vehicle armor.
The material consists of innumerable tiny metal spheres that are actually hollow inside. A ceramic layer is added to the outer surface of the metal, forming a plate. The shape of the small balls on the inside helps the material absorb the kinetic force of a projectile and protect anything that might be behind, such as the passengers of a vehicle.
This new material is so powerful that it represents less than half the weight of a solid steel sheet with similar protection. This means that armored vehicles equipped with composite material could be much lighter while offering the same protection to those sitting inside.
According to the researchers, the material could be further optimized, potentially offering even greater protection while limiting weight.
"These results derive from the tests we have done by simply combining steel-to-steel CMF with ceramic faceplates, an aluminum backplate, and an adhesive material," said Afsaneh Rabiei, co-author of the study. in a statement. "We only optimized our CMF material and replaced the steel plate of the standard vehicle shield with CMF steel-steel armor. We could do some extra work to make it even better. For example, we would like to optimize the adhesion and thickness of the ceramic, CMF and aluminum layers, which could further reduce the overall weight and improve the efficiency of the final shielding. "
Source of the image: Simon Belcher / imageBROKER / Shutterstock
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