Cast Steel Composite Armor Plate with Manganese-Rich Matrix
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing armor plates face challenges in achieving cost-effective production while maintaining high penetration resistance against projectiles, particularly due to gaps between ceramic and metal layers leading to splintering and high production costs.
Innovation Solution
An armor plate composed of a metal layer made from cast steel with a composite layer formed by casting steel into a mold containing a three-dimensional structure, where the composite layer consists of dimensionally stable ceramic material and cast steel as the matrix, filled with steel to eliminate gaps and enhance structural stability, using manganese-rich cast steel with bainitic, austenitic, or martensitic structures for increased hardness and toughness.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If ceramic material is used in armor plates to resist high temperatures and absorb impact energy, then penetration resistance is improved, but gaps between ceramic and metal layers cause splintering and reduce reliability
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a porous foam metal interlayer between the ceramic front layer and the steel back layer. This porous structure allows for gradual transition and stress distribution, preventing sudden splintering while maintaining the ceramic's high temperature and impact resistance properties. The porous material acts as a buffer zone that manages the shock waves generated during projectile impact.
Solution Approach 2:
The armor plate is constructed as a multi-layer composite structure consisting of ceramic material, foam metal interlayer, and steel back layer. Each layer contributes specific properties: the ceramic provides high-temperature resistance and initial impact absorption, the foam metal provides structural continuity and shock management, and the steel layer provides backing support. This composite approach resolves the contradiction by combining materials with complementary properties.
2Reliability
If multiple layers including backing plates are added to support the composite layer and prevent splintering, then reliability is improved, but manufacturing complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the backing plate function directly into the steel back layer that is already part of the core structure. Rather than adding separate supporting elements, the steel back layer itself is designed to provide the necessary structural support and prevent splintering. This integration reduces the number of discrete components and simplifies the manufacturing process while maintaining reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The foam metal interlayer serves multiple functions simultaneously: it provides structural continuity between layers, manages shock waves, prevents splintering of the ceramic, and reduces overall weight. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for additional separate supporting structures, thereby reducing manufacturing complexity while improving reliability.
3Strength
If traditional manufacturing methods with separate ceramic and metal layers are used, then production costs are high, but eliminating gaps between layers improves penetration resistance
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the ceramic front layer, foam metal interlayer, and steel back layer into a single integrated structure where the layers are metallurgically bonded or closely integrated. This eliminates gaps and interfaces that would require separate manufacturing and assembly steps, thereby reducing production costs while maintaining the penetration resistance benefits of the multi-material structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The use of a foam metal interlayer creates a graded composite structure that transitions smoothly between the ceramic and steel layers. This graded composition allows for better stress distribution and eliminates the sharp interfaces that cause splintering in traditional laminated structures. The composite approach enables a more efficient single-step or fewer-step manufacturing process compared to traditional multi-layer assembly methods.
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 solution significantly improves penetration resistance by eliminating gaps between ceramic and metal layers, reducing production costs, and enhancing the armor plate's ability to absorb impact energy without significant reduction in notched impact strength, allowing for efficient strain hardening and increased hardness.
Implementation Method 1
The cast steel of the metal layer is cold-worked, wherein the metal layer is at least partially work-hardened with respect to a layer thickness of the metal layer
Implementation Method 2
the ceramic material reacts to impact with cracking because it is very brittle and cannot yield elastically, absorbing or dissipating a significant portion of the impact energy
Implementation Method 3
a material that is dimensionally stable in liquid steel and forms a spatial structure
Implementation Method 4
the composite layer is formed by casting steel into a mold in which the spatial structure is arranged
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a composite armor (50) and a method for producing a composite armor, in particular an armor plate for protection against projectiles, wherein the composite armor is formed from at least one metal layer (51) and at least one composite layer (52), wherein the metal layer is made of cast steel, wherein the composite layer is formed from a material that is dimensionally stable in liquid steel and forms a spatial structure (53), and from a matrix material that fills the spatial structure, wherein the matrix material is made of cast steel, wherein the composite layer is formed by casting steel into a mold in which the spatial structure is arranged, wherein the cast steel contains 4 to 30, preferably up to 21, percent manganese by mass as an alloying element, and wherein the cast steel has a predominantly bainitic, austenitic and/or martensitic microstructure.