Modular Belly Armor Kit With Curved Blast Deflection and Buoyancy
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional land vehicles with extra thick floor panels are ineffective against blasts or explosive events from underneath, exposing the crew cabin to full energy and hindering amphibious operations, while vehicles with energy absorption devices face complexity and malfunction risks, and fragmentation issues.
Innovation Solution
A modular vehicle belly armor kit comprising a bottom plate with a convex profile, a top plate, and wall sections forming an armor structure that deflects projectiles and includes cavities for buoyancy, providing protection and flexibility for various missions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If an extra thick floor panel is used for protection, then the vehicle gains blast resistance, but the buoyancy characteristics are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The curved arch design encloses a volumetric space that displaces water, generating buoyant force according to Archimedes' principle. This curved geometry simultaneously provides blast deflection and creates positive buoyancy, resolving the contradiction between protection and buoyancy that plagues flat panel designs.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If energy absorption devices with mechanically operating cylinders are used, then the vehicle gains underbody protection, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts and eliminates the complex mechanical cylinder components from the protection system. By replacing the entire energy absorption device with a passive curved armor structure, the design removes unnecessary mechanical complexity while maintaining protective functionality through geometric deflection rather than active mechanical response.
Solution Approach 2:
The curved armor structure provides automatic protection without requiring mechanical actuators, sensors, or control systems. The geometry itself performs the protective function by naturally deflecting explosive energy, eliminating the need for complex energy absorption devices with moving parts.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If energy absorption devices with cylinders are used, then the vehicle gains protective capability, but the likelihood of malfunction and failure increases
Solution Approach 1:
The passive curved armor structure requires no operational intervention or mechanical actuation to provide protection. It reliably deflects explosive energy through its fixed geometry, eliminating the malfunction risks associated with mechanical cylinders, seals, and actuators that characterize active energy absorption devices.
4Object-affected harmful factors
If energy absorption devices with cylinders are used, then the vehicle gains protective function, but fragmentation is promoted
Solution Approach 1:
By removing the cylindrical mechanical components and connecting parts from the protection system, the invention eliminates the primary sources of fragmentation. The simple curved armor structure consists of continuous, smooth surfaces without the bolts, welds, and mechanical joints that generate dangerous fragments during impact.
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 modular armor kit effectively deflects projectiles and enhances buoyancy, improving safety and operational capabilities, including amphibious missions, by providing a flexible and durable protection solution for the vehicle's underbelly.
Implementation Method 1
The bottom plate may have a convex profile (e.g., a V-shaped cross-section) to enable the armor structure to deflect projectiles out and away from the vehicle's centerline
Implementation Method 2
In some arrangements, the armor structure includes a set of cavities (e.g., filled with air and/or other buoyant material) to reduce dust/debris buildup buoyancy and make the vehicle better suited for certain applications such as amphibious missions
Data Source
AI summary
Techniques are directed to a modular vehicle belly armor kit, as well as systems and methods which utilize such a kit. The kit includes a bottom plate, a top plate, and a plurality of wall sections connecting with the bottom plate and the top plate to form an armor structure that protects a belly portion of the vehicle. After the modular vehicle belly armor kit is positioned underneath a vehicle, the bottom plate may be placed in contact with the vehicle. After the bottom plate is placed in contact with the vehicle, the bottom plate may be fastened to vehicle.