Perforated Armor Plate for Military Vehicle Weight Reduction

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing protective elements for military vehicles against ballistic projectiles are heavy due to the need for thick solid armor plates, which restricts vehicle mobility without adequately reducing the weight while maintaining protective effectiveness.

Innovation Solution

The use of perforated armor plates with strategically designed holes that reduce weight by allowing projectiles to break up or deflect, combined with a damping layer and multiple layered structures for enhanced protection, allowing for a lighter yet effective armor solution.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If the armor plate is designed to be thick to provide protection against high kinetic energy projectiles, then the protective effect is improved, but the weight of the protective element increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveprotective effectVSAvoidweight of protective element
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSWeight of moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The armor plate is segmented by creating a perforated structure with multiple holes distributed across its surface. This segmentation allows the plate to break up incoming projectiles into multiple smaller fragments while removing unnecessary material, achieving both weight reduction and maintained protective effectiveness against ballistic projectiles

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The armor plate is designed as a perforated plate with a specific pore structure (holes) that provides protective function. The porous/perforated structure reduces weight while the strategic placement and sizing of holes maintain the ability to deflect and fragment projectiles, solving the contradiction between weight and protection

Inventive Principle:
Principle #31Porous materials

2Reliability

If a solid armor plate is used to ensure comprehensive protection, then the protective coverage is improved, but the manufacturing cost and production time increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveprotective coverageVSAvoidproduction cost and time
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSEase of manufacture

Solution Approach 1:

The armor plate is segmented by creating a perforated structure with multiple holes distributed across its surface. This segmentation allows the plate to break up incoming projectiles into multiple smaller fragments while removing unnecessary material, achieving both weight reduction and maintained protective effectiveness against ballistic projectiles

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The plate transitions from a solid structure to a perforated structure with optimized hole parameters (size, distribution, pattern). This parameter change reduces material usage and manufacturing complexity while maintaining protective function through the strategic design of the perforation pattern

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

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 perforated design achieves comparable protection to solid armor plates while significantly reducing weight, with projectiles being broken up or deflected, and the layered structure provides polyvalent protection against various threats, enhancing mobility without compromising defense.

Implementation Method 1

A projectile hitting the perforated plate can be broken up at the perforations and/or divided into several parts, so that its penetrating power can be reduced

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectImpact force: Impact Force

Implementation Method 2

projectiles hitting the edges and/or inner walls of the holes can be deflected. This effect of the holes also has a positive effect on the protective effect, since deflected projectiles can have reduced kinetic energy

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectDeflection:

Data Source

PatentEP3128283B1Protective element for protection against ballistic missiles, and military vehicle
Publication Date: 2018.09.12 KRAUSS MAFFEI WEGMANN GMBH & CO KG
  • EP3128283B1 patent drawingFigure 1~2
  • EP3128283B1 patent drawingFigure 3~4
  • EP3128283B1 patent drawingFigure 5~7

AI summary

The invention relates to a protective element for protection against ballistic projectiles (1) with an armor plate (13, 15), wherein the armor plate (13, 15) is designed as a perforated plate having several holes (13.1, 15.1) and a military vehicle with such a protective element (10).