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Super Bainite SteelThe New Key Player in Vehicle Armour
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With global hotspots of unrest continuing to proliferate due to conflict and the growing threat of terrorism, particularly in the Middle East and North Africa, the importance and value of armoured vehicles is expected to grow in the short and medium term.
Armoured vehicle fleets provide the backbone for the ground-based fighting capability in response to these threats; facilitating the protection and mobility for the deployment of troops, sensors and weapon systems. The unique challenges of modern battlefield settings,
where intense armament is needed to enable radical tactical and operational mobility across demanding terrain, have demonstrated the importance of using armour materials that offer maximum levels of protection. But with a global economic slowdown and the
uncertainty caused by Brexit, the defence market is becoming more price sensitive, and is therefore looking to find and procure superior materials at a lower cost.
The Armoured Vehicle MarketAccording to the Defence IQ Armoured Vehicles Market Report, the armoured vehicles market is currently worth in the region of £11.7 billion.
Following a period of decline
after military withdrawal
from Afghanistan, the
market has revived with
the emergence of political
instability throughout
the Middle East, Eastern
Europe and Asia-Pacific. As
a result, defence budgets
are continuing to witness
an upward trajectory of
growth along with new
contract opportunities and
large-scale investments
as governments seek to
develop their military
capabilities in response to
the global terrorism threat,
as highlighted by Islamic
unprecedented migration in
mainland Europe provides
a new security challenge. In
addition, NATO is routinely
deployed in Baltic regions of
Eastern Europe in an effort
to deter Russian aggression.
Throughout North and
West Africa and the
Middle East, conventional
forces are pitted against
unpredictable threats and
terrorism, stimulated, for
the most part, by Islamic
Fundamentalism; while
conflicts in Mexico, South
Sudan and Yemen continue
State throughout Europe
and Asia.
The Defence IQ market
report shows that Saudi
Arabia and the UAE are set
to be the primary armoured
vehicle markets over the
next decade, with 36 per
cent of survey respondents
declaring them priority
nations. India came in
second at 35 per cent, and
USA third with 33 per cent.
European markets have also
seen an increase in demand
for armoured vehicles as
“
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Protection continues to be a priority with armoured vehicles but, more than ever before, reliability is becoming an equally critical feature.
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to highlight the important
role of armoured vehicles
in the protection of local
populations.
Though immediate
protection continues to be
a priority with armoured
vehicles, reliability has
quickly become an equally
critical feature. This
indicates an increased
awareness of the need to be
able to quickly respond to
numerous and sophisticated
threats while, at the same
time, reducing through-life
costs in accordance with
financial demands.
The Armoured Personnel
Carrier (APC) remains the
vehicle most likely to be
in highest demand over
the next decade after the
slow decline of the once-
prominent Mine Resistant
Ambush Protected (MRAP)
vehicle. The threat of
landmines and IEDs
remain a top concern, but
increased technological
sophistication is driving for
even more armoured vehicle
capabilities.
In terms of specific armour
types, new lightweight and
durable options continue
to be researched and
developed. One example
is aluminium oxynitride, a
material whose physical
and mechanical properties
make it a leading competitor
for lightweight and high-
performance armour
applications as well as for
military infrared optics. At
an average cost of £10 per
square inch, however, it is a
costly option in the current
climate.
Aluminium also features
in research for a new
honeycomb-structured
plate composite with a
shock-absorbing layer
that addresses an ongoing
demand for anti-ballistic
properties.
Though there are six
leading armour types used
in the industry today -
plastic, glass, ceramics,
metal, composites and
nanomaterials - advances
in technology are
beginning to reveal some
of their drawbacks, while
highlighting the strengths of
newer armour components.
Plastic
Glass
Plastic armour is lighter than metal alternatives, has a reduced thermal radar signature and is resistant to erosion. The deflective, hard granite particles also make it extremely effective at stopping armour-piercing bullets which lodge between the plastic and the steel backing plate. The material is generally less protective than steel-based armours due to an inferior material density and, although lighter, plastic armour tends to be bulkier than metal armour for the same amount of protection. Since World War II, plastics are more frequently used as a composite addition to other materials.
Glass is much harder than plastic, to such a degree that it is able to flatten and absorb the energy of a bullet before penetration. These armours tend to use strong but transparent materials - such as polycarbonate thermoplastic or layers of laminated glass - which offer varying degrees of protection against small arms fire, but excel in mitigating direct impacts such as that of a hammer or axe. The efficacy of bullet-resistant glass against different firearms will depend on the amount, layering and thickness of the glass. New innovations in this material include the adaptation of an air chamber between glass and polycarbonate components. This feature and a curved design deforms any incoming bullet and is far lighter and thinner than traditional glass-clad polycarbonate armour. Though lauded for its strength, a significant downside of this material is its bulk and restrictive heaviness.
Armour Types
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Metal armours are made from materials including titanium, iron, uranium and steel, each of which carries advantages and disadvantages. Titanium is as strong as iron but has almost twice the density of aluminium and so, despite being more expensive, is highly effective in areas where weight is a concern, such as personal armour and military aviation. Uranium is similarly dense and is therefore used on tank armour, sandwiched between sheets of steel armour plate. Steel armours, such as rolled homogenous armours, are durable and tough but far bulkier than many modern materials. In recent years, new research has seen many metal materials evolve new protective properties. Although all strong and hard, metal armours are increasingly being overtaken by newer materials such as ceramics, smart materials and those made through additive manufacturing (which have dominated recent military innovation).
Metal
Composite armour consists of layers of materials with significantly different physical properties that, when combined, create an armour that’s stronger and lighter than metal. The effectiveness of composite armour rests on its composition and the materials that make it. It is known to be particularly effective against kinetic energy penetrators when combined with a heavy metal. The most common type of composite armour today is Chobham armour, which houses a layer of ceramic between two plates of steel armour and dramatically increases the resistance to HEAT rounds, even in comparison to other composite armour designs. Kevlar is another famous example. Composites are used by many modern armed forces but, more than ever before, they’re also being used on much smaller vehicles, often as an upgrade to existing armours. Though it is possible to design composite armour that is tougher, lighter and less voluminous than traditional materials, the cost is often prohibitively high, restricting its use to especially vulnerable parts of a vehicle.
Nanostructured materials are typically stronger, lighter and more durable
than most standard armours, and offer unique potential for reducing
the weight of a soldier or vehicle; improving both their lethality and
survivability.
The design and purpose of a vehicle determines the amount and type
of vehicle armour it requires. Heavy armour that’s either built into the
vehicle or retrofitted as appliqué plates can sometimes restrict mobility
and increase the amount of fuel the vehicle uses. In order to address this
problem, armours made from nanomaterials are often marketed as a more
attractive alternative.
Although celebrated for their lightness and enhancement of modern
ballistic materials, very few nanomaterials are currently available in
commercial products, making them expensive to build and untested in
some situations.
Nanomaterials
CompositesCeramic
Similarly to glass designs, ceramic armour is made of non-metallic, inorganic materials. The strength of construction and range of possible materials, however, set ceramics apart. Ceramic plates, typically composed of boron carbide or near variants, offer very high ballistic value, but are less efficient at dispersing blunt trauma. As a result, they’re often backed with materials such as aramid fabrics, high density fabrics or metal. This can add to the weight of ceramic armours but renders them more efficient at deforming penetrators. They also have a number of useful physical properties including resistance to heat, abrasion and compression, high rigidity, low weight in comparison with steel, and outstanding chemical stability. Despite this, and despite being one of the more popular materials in the modern market, ceramics are not completely infallible. Compared to steel or titanium, for instance, ceramic plates are brittle and therefore have inferior multi-hit resistance, making them particularly vulnerable to tightly-grouped rounds.
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Super BainiteSuper Bainite Steel is the result of 30 years of Cambridge University research. It was developed to replace Bainite, an extremely strong but brittle metal, by two researchers who aimed to create new steel alloys with military applications. They reasoned that if they could reduced Bainite’s brittleness, its characteristic hardness would make it an ideal source to work with Through testing the metal under various conditions, researchers found that by applying a heat treatment process called isothermal hardening and holding the steel at about 250C over several days, they could create an ultra-hard and strong steel that was far more flexible than other materials, even without the expensive addition of alloy metals. The result was a more perfect structure, and one that was near impossible to deform or crack. Ploughshare Innovations and Tata Steel licensed Super Bainite in 2011, allowing the steel giant to begin manufacturing and processing it in the UK and Europe, as well as exporting it globally. in its ability to endure small
arms and heavy machine gun
fire.
By incorporating Super Bainite
into an armour system as a
perforated strike face, the total
ballistic mass efficiency of the
armour is brought up to 2.5,
while at the same time it can
be matched to its environment
or host vehicle as its unique
properties allow it to be easily
painted or laser-profiled.
Another benefit of the material
is its manufacturing process
which, being far simpler
than any other commercially
available ballistic armour,
allows for more flexibility with
buyer requirements.
The enormous strength of
Super Bainite makes it ideal for
applications where strength,
toughness and versatility
are paramount; while its
lightweight nature and ability
to absorb energy makes it a
competitive and relatively
inexpensive comparison to
more traditional military
fabrics.
While ceramics layers and
smart materials continue to
forge ahead of armour plating’s
more traditional players, it is
the ascension of Super Bainite
that looks likely to have the
most profound effect on the
market in the years to come.
Since then, it has lived up to
its promise of being one of
the most pioneering military
technologies of our age.
The armour has a tensile
strength of some 2.5
gigapascals and a higher
density of infrastructure than
any other type of metal. In
recent trials, Super Bainite
demonstrated a hardness
matching that of alternative
hardness armour steels and
even some ceramic armours,
but at a much-reduced cost.
Through the addition of a
carefully calculated pattern
of perforations, Super Bainite
becomes twice as resistant to
ballistic impact as a monolithic
steel sheet. Although adding
holes may sound counter-
intuitive, they work by creating
myriad edges that interrupt
the path of an incoming
projectile and reduce it to blunt
fragments to minimise damage.
In fact, in its perforated form
Super Bainite has a ballistic
resistance superior to all
established armour materials
“
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The enormous strength of Super Bainite makes it ideal for applications where strength, toughness and versatility are paramount; while its lightweight nature and ability to absorb energy makes it a competitive and relatively inexpensive comparison to more traditional military fabrics.
Though these six highly protective materials currently dominate the market, it is plain to see that each has its drawbacks: some hinder users with excess heaviness or bulk, others carry high production costs or long lead times. A new material in development promises could be a game-changing alternative, however, from both an industrial manufacturing and military capability perspective, boasting a design that is innovative, ultra-hard and cheaper than comparable materials. Its name? Super Bainite Steel.
About Ploughshare
Ploughshare Innovations is the government’s technology transfer organisation. It is responsible for turning ‘swords into ploughshares’, converting technology research created by the UK Government into civilian applications.
Ploughshare Innovations was formed in 2005 to commercialise and increate the impact of intellectual property generated from research Dstl. Since it’s establishment, Ploughshare has commercialised more than 120 technologies and launces twelve spin-out companies, principally for civilian applications.
© 2017 Ploughshare Innovations Limited. All rights reserved. This publication is issued to provide outline information only. The company reserves any right to alter without notice the specification, design or conditions of supply of any product or service.
Ploughshare is wholly owned by the Secretary of State for Defence
Harnessing innovation for a better world
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