SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
Submission Preview
Metal foam stops .50 caliber rounds as well as steel -- at less than half the weight
Researchers have demonstrated that vehicle armor using composite metal foam (CMF) can stop ball and armor-piercing .50 caliber rounds as well as conventional steel armor, even though it weighs less than half as much. The finding means that vehicle designers will be able to develop lighter military vehicles without sacrificing safety, or can improve protection without making vehicles heavier.
CMF is a foam that consists of hollow, metallic spheres -- made of materials such as stainless steel or titanium -- embedded in a metallic matrix made of steel, titanium, aluminum or other metallic alloys. In this study, the researchers used steel-steel CMF, meaning that both the spheres and the matrix were made of steel.
The CMF layer of the armor was able to absorb 72-75% of the kinetic energy of the ball rounds, and 68-78% of the kinetic energy of the armor-piercing rounds.
In addition, Rabiei's group has shown that CMFs, in addition to being lightweight, are very effective at shielding X-rays, gamma rays and neutron radiation -- and can handle fire and heat twice as well as the plain metals they are made of.
[...] "In short, CMFs hold promise for a variety of applications: from space exploration to shipping nuclear waste, explosives and hazardous materials, to military and security applications and even cars, buses and trains," Rabiei says.
Metal foam stops .50 caliber rounds [sciencedaily.com]
[Source]: NC State University [ncsu.edu]
[Related Video]: YouTube Video [youtu.be]
[Abstract]: Ballistic Performance of Composite Metal Foam against Large Caliber Threats [sciencedirect.com]
