Asymmetric Armor Coupler Plate for Stand-off Impact Absorption
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Solution Overview
Problem
Attaching armor panels to vehicles at a stand-off distance increases vehicle dimensions, reducing mobility and causing damage upon impact with obstacles, which deteriorates the ballistic capability of the armor panels.
Innovation Solution
A coupler with an asymmetric cross-sectional plate member and a restraining sleeve, allowing differential bending susceptibility in multiple directions, is used to attach armor panels to a structure, providing flexibility and preventing sagging while maintaining rigidity against gravitational forces.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If armor panels are attached at a stand-off distance from the vehicle surface, then the safe distance protects the vehicle from direct impact and explosion effects, but the vehicle dimensions increase reducing mobility and causing the armor panel to impact obstacles
Solution Approach 1:
The coupling system is divided into multiple segments: rigid coupling elements for structural attachment, flexible elements for shock absorption, and damping components for vibration reduction. This segmentation allows the armor panel to maintain protective distance while reducing overall vehicle dimension increase and improving mobility.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs flexible coupling elements with varying degrees of flexibility and damping coefficients to optimize the balance between maintaining stand-off distance for protection and minimizing the increase in vehicle dimensions. By adjusting the flexibility parameters of the coupling system, the armor panel can be positioned at an optimal distance without excessively increasing vehicle width.
2Reliability
If armor panels are attached at a stand-off distance, then protection effectiveness is improved, but the armor panel is more susceptible to damage from impacting obstacles
Solution Approach 1:
The coupling system incorporates flexible elements and damping components that act as cushioning mechanisms before the armor panel impacts obstacles. These elements absorb and dissipate impact energy, reducing the force transmitted to the armor panel and preventing damage that would deteriorate its ballistic capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The flexible coupling elements serve as intermediary components between the armor panel and the vehicle structure. These intermediaries absorb impact forces and vibrations, protecting the armor panel from direct damage while maintaining the protective stand-off distance configuration.
3Strength
If flexible couplers are used to allow armor panel displacement, then damage from obstacle impact is reduced, but the coupling system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The coupling system applies flexibility and damping properties locally at specific coupling points rather than throughout the entire attachment system. This allows the armor panel to have controlled displacement capability where needed while maintaining simplicity in other areas, reducing overall system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs flexible coupling elements such as elastomeric mounts and flexible brackets that provide the necessary displacement capability through their inherent material properties. These flexible components simplify the overall system design compared to complex mechanical joints, as they provide flexibility through material elasticity rather than complex mechanisms.
4Adaptability or versatility
If the plate member has asymmetric cross-section for differential bending susceptibility, then the coupler can be oriented to suit expected impact directions, but manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The plate member is designed with an asymmetric cross-section that provides different moments of inertia about different axes, creating differential bending susceptibility. This asymmetry allows the coupler to be oriented in specific directions to optimize performance for expected impact directions, enhancing adaptability while the manufacturing precision is managed through standardized production processes.
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 coupler arrangement allows the armor panels to absorb impact forces effectively, reducing damage and maintaining mobility by adjusting orientation based on expected impact directions, ensuring the armor panels remain functional and attached to the vehicle.
Implementation Method 1
The asymmetric cross-sectional shape of the plate member can be such that it provides the plate member with a first moment of inertia in a first direction and a second moment of inertia in a second direction, different than the first moment of inertia
Implementation Method 2
The coupler can further comprise a restraining sleeve encapsulating at least a portion of the plate member configured for preventing, or at least considerably reducing vibrations occurring in the plate member
Implementation Method 3
The elongate member is resilient enough to support the attached armor elements and return the armor elements to their normal resting position following disturbance
Data Source
AI summary
A coupler for the attachment of an armor panel to a structure to be protected, the coupler having a first end unit configured for attachment to the armor panel and a second end unit configured for attachment to the structure, the units being axially spaced from one another by an elongated plate member having, in cross-section taken along a plane perpendicular to the axial direction, an asymmetric shape allowing the plate to be differently susceptible to bending forces in at least two different directions.