Apparatus for defeating high energy projectiles

Abstract

An armor system for defeating a solid projectile has an outer armor plate, an interior armor plate, and an inner armor plate, the plates positioned approximately parallel to one another and also displaced from one another along the projectile trajectory to form a first dispersion space between the outer armor plate and the interior armor plate, and a second dispersion space between the interior armor plate and the inner armor plate. The first and second dispersion spaces are each sufficiently thick to allow significant lateral dispersion of any armor fragments passing therethrough. The upstream (relative to the projectile trajectory) surfaces of the interior and inner metal armor plates each have a metal coating of a composition selected to friction weld or bond with the metal of the adjacent upstream metal armor plate, and, when positioned to first engage the projectile, the outer metal armor plate has on its upstream surface a metal coating of a composition selected to friction weld or bond with the metal of the projectile.

1 . An armor system for defeating a metal projectile, the projectile having a trajectory, the system comprising:
 an outer metal armor plate positioned in the projectile trajectory;   an interior metal armor plate positioned approximately parallel to the first outer metal armor plate and displaced downstream therefrom a distance along the trajectory to form a first dispersion space;   a layer of a first metal positioned between the outer metal armor plate and the interior metal armor plate, the first metal layer being thin relative to the thicknesses of the outer metal armor plate and the interior metal armor plate, and the first metal layer being configured to adhere to at least one of the outer armor plate metal and the interior armor plate metal as a result of energy imparted by the projectile;   an inner metal armor plate positioned approximately parallel to the interior metal armor plate and displaced downstream therefrom along the trajectory to form a second dispersion space; and   a layer of a second metal positioned between the interior metal armor plate and the inner metal armor plate, the second metal layer being thin relative to the thicknesses of the interior metal armor plate and the inner metal armor plate, and the second metal layer being configured to adhere to at least one of the interior armor plate metal and the inner armor plate metal as a result of energy imparted by the projectile.   
     
     
         2 . The armor system as in  claim 1 , wherein the first metal layer is a first metal coating formed on an upstream surface of the interior metal armor plate relative to the trajectory. 
     
     
         3 . The armor system as in  claim 1 , wherein the second metal layer is a second metal coating formed on an upstream surface of the inner metal armor plate relative to the trajectory. 
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the outer metal armor plate is positioned to first engage the projectile and includes on an upstream surface, relative to the trajectory, an outer metal coating of a composition disposed to friction weld or bond with the projectile metal. 
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 4 , wherein the projectile metal is copper, and wherein the outer metal coating composition disposed to friction weld or bond to copper consists essentially of a metal selected from the group consisting of copper, iron, aluminum, magnesium, and titanium. 
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the outer and the interior armor plates each have an elongation at tensile rupture of greater than 7%. 
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the interior and inner armor plates have an elongation at tensile rupture of greater than 10%. 
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the outer metal armor plate consists essentially of a metal selected from the group consisting of aluminum, iron, and titanium. 
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 1 , further including a leading armor plate disposed on an upstream surface of said outer metal armor plate relative to the trajectory, said leading armor plate having an elongation at tensile rupture of less than 5% and an ultimate tensile strength greater than 100,000 lbs./in. 2    
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein said outer metal armor plate comprises a steel alloy having an elongation at tensile rupture of more than 10% and an ultimate tensile strength greater than 50,000 lbs./in. 2    
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein said outer metal armor plate comprises an aluminum alloy having an elongation at tensile rupture of more than 10% and an ultimate tensile strength greater than 30,000 lbs./in. 2    
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 1 , further including an electrically conductive member positioned in the dispersion space between two adjacent ones of the outer metal armor plate, the interior metal armor plate, and the inner metal armor plate; and a source of electrical power electrically connected between either of the two adjacent metal armor plates and the electrically conductive member, the source of electrical power being configured to supply sufficient electrical power to disperse at least a portion of a mass comprising the elongated projectile making electrical connection between the electrically connected armor plate and the electrically conductive member. 
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein at least one of the outer, interior, and inner metal armor plates is comprised of a metal having a value for the velocity of a forced shock wave passing therethrough different from the shock wave velocity values of the other plates. 
     
     
         14 . An armored vehicle including the system of  claim 1 , wherein the system is configured to be affixed to an exterior of an armored vehicle, the inner metal armor plate being configured to be disposed proximate the vehicle exterior. 
     
     
         15 . The vehicle of  claim 14 , wherein the vehicle includes a body, and wherein the exterior surface of the body includes a third metal coating of a composition disposed to friction weld or bond with the inner armor plate metal. 
     
     
         16 . An armor system for defeating a copper projectile, the projectile having a trajectory, said system comprising:
 an outer armor plate positioned to first engage the projectile and comprised of an alloy of aluminum having an ultimate tensile strength greater than about 30,000 lbs./in. 2  and a thickness in the range of from about 8 to about 40 millimeters, said outer armor plate having a metal coating of a composition disposed to friction weld or bond with copper;   an interior armor plate comprised of an alloy of aluminum having an ultimate tensile strength greater than about 30,000 lbs./in. 2  and a thickness in the range of from about 8 to about 40 millimeters, the interior armor plate being positioned approximately parallel to the outer armor plate and displaced downstream therefrom along the trajectory to form a first dispersion space between the outer armor plate and the interior armor plate a distance of from about 25 to about 150 millimeters, said interior armor plate including on its upstream surface relative to the trajectory a metal coating of a composition disposed to friction weld or bond with aluminum;   an inner armor plate comprised of an alloy of aluminum having an ultimate tensile strength greater than about 30,000 lbs./in. 2  and a thickness in the range of from about  8  to about 40 millimeters, the inner armor plate being positioned approximately parallel to the interior armor plate and displaced downstream therefrom along the trajectory to form a second dispersion space between the interior armor plate and the inner armor plate a distance of from about 25 to about 150 millimeters, said inner armor plate including on its upstream surface relative to the trajectory a metal coating of a composition disposed to friction weld or bond with aluminum; and   a steel armor plate comprised of an alloy of steel having an elongation at tensile rupture of greater than about 10%, the steel armor plate being positioned approximately parallel to the inner armor plate and displaced downstream therefrom to form a third dispersion space between the inner plate and the steel armor plate a distance of from about 5 to about 50 millimeters, said steel plate including on its upstream surface relative to the trajectory a metal coating of a composition disposed to friction weld or bond with aluminum.   
     
     
         17 . A vehicle having the system of  claim 16  mounted thereon, wherein the vehicle is a blast-resistant armored land vehicle having a monocoque body comprised of steel sheet armor, the body having a bottom portion defining at least one V, with the apex of the V substantially parallel to the centerline of the vehicle; and wherein the steel armor plate is positioned adjacent the steel sheet body armor. 
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 16 , wherein the metal coating disposed to friction weld or bond with the metal projectile consists essentially of a metal selected from the group consisting of copper, aluminum, iron, and titanium. 
     
     
         19 . An armor system for defeating a metal projectile, the projectile having a trajectory, said system comprising:
 an outer metal armor plate positioned to first engage the projectile, the plate having an upstream surface relative to the trajectory with a metal coating being configured to adhere to the metal comprising the metal projectile as a result of energy imparted by the projectile.   
     
     
         20 . The system of  claim 19 , wherein said armor system includes one or more additional metal armor plates spaced one from the other along the trajectory and downstream from the outer metal armor plate, at least one of said additional metal armor plates having on its upstream surface relative to the trajectory, a metal coating of a composition disposed to friction weld or bond with the metal comprising the metal of an adjacent upstream metal armor plate. 
     
     
         21 . The system of  claim 19 , wherein the metal coating disposed to friction weld or bond with the metal projectile consists essentially of a metal selected from the group consisting of aluminum, copper, iron, and titanium. 
     
     
         22 . The system as in  claim 20 , wherein the adjacent upstream metal armor plate is steel, and wherein the metal coating on said one additional metal armor plate consists essentially of a metal selected from the group consisting of iron, aluminum, copper, nickel, magnesium, and titanium. 
     
     
         23 . The system as in  claim 20 , wherein the adjacent upstream metal armor plate is aluminum, and wherein the metal coating on said one additional metal armor plate consists essentially of a metal selected from the group consisting of aluminum, iron, copper, and titanium. 
     
     
         24 . The system as in  claim 20 , wherein the adjacent upstream metal armor plate is titanium, and wherein the metal coating on said one additional metal consists essentially of a metal selected from the group consisting of titanium, iron, aluminum, copper, and nickel.