Multi-Functional Armor System

Abstract

A ballistic armor adapted to protect against armor piercing projectiles and to withstand multiple impacts of fragment simulating projectiles of a predetermined type, traveling at an initial velocity not exceeding a first velocity. The armor comprises a main armor layer and an auxiliary layer. The main armor layer is adapted to absorb most of the energy of the armor piercing projectiles and to withstand the impacts of the fragment simulating projectiles traveling at a velocity not exceeding a second velocity which is lower than said first velocity. The auxiliary layer is disposed in front of the main armor layer to face the projectiles, and is made of a material which is adapted to undergo a ductile failure mode when perforated by said fragment simulating projectiles and thereby experience localized deformation in the vicinity of each perforation, and which is adapted to cause the fragment simulating projectiles to experience such an energy loss associated with the perforation and deformation as to reduce their velocity from the initial velocity to a velocity not exceeding the second velocity.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0001]This invention relates to ballistic armor, particularly those suited to protect against fragmentation.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]When designing ballistic armor, for example, for protecting a vehicle, consideration must be given to the type or types of projectile against which the armor must protect. Some arrangements of armor will not protect at all against a certain type of projectile. For example, an array of ceramic tiles or pellets can protect against kinetic energy (KE) threats, such as direct hits of armor-piercing penetrators, while they generally do not provide protection against a plurality, i.e., hundreds, of fragments traveling at a high rate of speed as a consequence of an improvised explosive device (IED) exploding in the vicinity of an armored vehicle. Typically, the heavy fragmentation impacts resulting from the explosion of an IED destroy the hard, brittle ceramic, exposing the vehicle to be pierced by direct hit shots of sniper rifl...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0005]The present invention is directed to lightweight ballistic armor which can protect against both armor piercing projectiles and high speed fragments resulting from a nearby explosion of an IED or a high energy shell.

[0011]Experiments show that the use of the auxiliary layer made of aluminum alloys as described above allows the armor to stop FSPs of diameters as large as 20 mm having velocities as high as 1500 m / s. This is a surprising effect, since aluminum is known to have relatively low ballistic protection capabilities when used as a frontal material, for which reason it is normally used in internal or backing layers. It is further surprising that commercial and common aeronautical alloys may be used successfully for ballistic protection as suggested in accordance with the present invention, though normally only special armor alloys are used for military applications. While there may be no significant weight difference between military and non-military aluminum alloys, the latter are normally less hard and are cheaper than the former.

Problems solved by technology

Some arrangements of armor will not protect at all against a certain type of projectile.

For example, an array of ceramic tiles or pellets can protect against kinetic energy (KE) threats, such as direct hits of armor-piercing penetrators, while they generally do not provide protection against a plurality, i.e., hundreds, of fragments traveling at a high rate of speed as a consequence of an improvised explosive device (IED) exploding in the vicinity of an armored vehicle.

Typically, the heavy fragmentation impacts resulting from the explosion of an IED destroy the hard, brittle ceramic, exposing the vehicle to be pierced by direct hit shots of sniper rifles or other similar threats.

When performing ballistic tests, it is not practical to explode an IED near an armor prototype.

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