DUAL-HARDNESS TITANIUM BODY ARMOR FOR CONCEALABLE APPLICATIONS

A current need exists to develop a lightweight, low-profile armor system capable of defeating a 7.62x39mm ball round at muzzle velocity. Three design requirements must be met within the development of this system: areal density less than 5lbs/ft2, an overall thickness of less than 8mm, and formability to match torso contours. This study focuses on pure titanium (Ti) (Grade 2) and a single titanium alloy, Ti6Al-4V (Grade 5). Both materials exhibit superplastic behavior to enable shaping to the torso. Initial studies focus on laminate systems of both homogeneous and heterogeneous layered structures to investigate pressure reduction mechanisms. In addition to layered systems, hard front face coatings are studied as an alternative approach to reducing the penetration pressure through initial blunting of the incident projectile. Test configurations are investigated both experimentally and through hydrocode modeling.
http://archive.org/details/dualhardnesstita1094559720
Ensign, United States Navy
Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.