Armor Panel System Tile Bonding and Fragment Containment
Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional ballistic and blast resistant armor systems face issues with weight efficiency, cost, and fragment dispersion, with composite armors being expensive and manufacturing processes being slow and power-intensive, while solid metallic armors create hazardous fragments.
Innovation Solution
An armor panel system featuring a hardened strike face with fiber reinforcement and a containment assemblage, where the strike face is formed of discrete tiles bonded with cup-shaped staples and encapsulated in a matrix material, and the containment element is a composite laminate of ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene fibers, with a bonding layer to prevent crack propagation and delamination.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If solid metallic armor is used, then stopping power is improved, but weight efficiency deteriorates and fragment dispersion occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs composite materials consisting of a ceramic strike face layer bonded to a polymer backing plate layer. The ceramic layer provides hardness and ballistic resistance, while the polymer backing plate provides toughness and energy absorption. This composite structure achieves superior weight efficiency compared to solid metallic armor by combining the advantages of different materials - the ceramic provides protection with minimal weight, and the polymer backing absorbs impact energy without adding significant weight.
2Weight of moving object
If ceramic strike faces with composite backing plates are used, then weight efficiency is improved, but manufacturing cost and process complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent specifies particular parameter ranges for the composite layers: the ceramic strike face layer has a thickness of 0.5 to 2 inches and the polymer backing plate layer has a thickness of 0.25 to 1 inch. These parameter optimizations balance protection performance with manufacturing feasibility. The polymer backing plate uses thermoplastic materials with specific melting points and viscosities that enable efficient manufacturing processes, reducing overall manufacturing cost while maintaining the weight efficiency benefits of the composite structure.
3Ease of manufacture
If fine diameter fibers are used in backing plates, then cost is reduced, but fiber wetting capability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent specifies that the polymer backing plate material should have a melting point between 200°C and 300°C and a viscosity within a specific range during processing. These parameter controls ensure that the polymer flows sufficiently to wet the fiber surface effectively during manufacturing. The optimized viscosity and melting point allow the polymer to penetrate and bond with fine diameter fibers, achieving reliable fiber wetting even at high fiber volumes, while maintaining cost-effectiveness.
4Strength
If traditional ceramic composite armor is used, then projectile stopping power is improved, but manufacturing speed and productivity decrease
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces traditional slow and power-intensive ceramic manufacturing processes with more efficient polymer matrix composite processes. The polymer backing plate can be manufactured using conventional thermoplastic processing techniques that are faster and less energy-intensive than traditional ceramic forming. The ceramic strike face can be pre-formed and then bonded to the polymer backing plate using adhesive processes, significantly increasing manufacturing speed while maintaining the projectile stopping power through the optimized ceramic-polymer composite structure.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system provides enhanced weight efficiency, reduced fragment dispersion, and improved multi-hit performance by effectively absorbing and containing projectile fragments, while being cost-effective and manufacturable.
Implementation Method 1
a bonding layer joins the strike face assemblage to the support and containment assemblage
Implementation Method 2
The tiles and fiber reinforcement are encapsulated in a matrix material
Data Source
AI summary
An armor panel system has a strike face assemblage formed of a hard material layer of discrete elements or tiles and a fiber reinforcement bonded to the tiles. The fiber reinforcement includes a layer of cup-shaped staples aligned and bonded to an inner surface of an associated tile and having legs that extend into gaps between side edges of adjacent tiles. The tiles and fiber reinforcement are encapsulated in a matrix material. The armor panel system also includes a support and containment assemblage having a support plate and a containment element. The containment element is fastened to and supported by the support plate along a periphery by stitching, which allows the containment element to act as a net to catch and contain fragments. A bonding layer joins the strike face assemblage and the support and containment assemblage. The bonding layer includes a mesh embedded in an adhesive material.