Spall liners in combination with blast mitigation materials for vehicles

Abstract

Spall suppressing ballistic resistant vehicular armor. More particularly, a lightweight spall suppressing ballistic resistant vehicular armor system incorporating both a spall resistant liner and a blast mitigating material. The blast mitigating material is positioned contiguous to a vehicle hull to thereby space the spall resistant liner from the vehicle hull, thereby improving the performance of the liner and the overall system.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION[0001]This application claims the benefit of co-pending U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61 / 618,107, filed on Mar. 30, 2012, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.BACKGROUND[0002]1. Technical Field[0003]The invention relates to spall suppressing ballistic resistant vehicular armor. More particularly, the invention pertains to a lightweight spall suppressing ballistic resistant vehicular armor system incorporating anti-spall and blast mitigating elements.[0004]2. Description of the Related Art[0005]Vehicles intended for use in combat environments are often armored to protect the vehicle occupants from ballistic threats. Harm to vehicle occupants from ballistic threats may occur, for example, from the penetration of ballistic rounds or other such projectiles through the vehicle hull and into the vehicle interior, and / or as a result of the impact of high pressure blast energy from improvised explosive devi...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The patent text describes a ballistic resistant article that includes an elastically deformable blast mitigating material and a spall resistant substrate made of fibers and / or tapes. The substrate is attached to one of the blast mitigating material's surfaces. The article can also include a protective cover on the substrate's outer surface. The technical effects of this invention include increased ballistic resistance, protection against spall damage, and improved durability of the article.

Problems solved by technology

It is also recognized that high velocity fragments of metal released from the inside surface of a vehicle hull due to a high velocity impact with the vehicle, also known as spall, is a primary cause of vehicular casualties in combat.

For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,934,245 states that spall resistant liners should optimally be spaced from the inner wall of a vehicle by 4 to 17 inches to maximize their effectiveness, noting however that such a construction is unrealistic due to limited useable space within most vehicles.

Although it is desirable to equip armored vehicles with both a blast mitigating material and a spall resistant liner, space limitations within the vehicle are restrictive, resulting in no space available to separate the spall resistant liner from the hull.

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