On July 4th, 20 18, Professor and Chief Scientist of North Carolina State University (NCSU) Dr. Afsaneh Rabiei and his team cooperated with the United States Army Aviation Application Technology Agency (AATD) to develop a composite metal foam (CMF) material. This innovative technology is of great significance to the development of armored combat vehicles in the future!
This revolutionary new material, Composite Metal Foam (CMF), has much stronger performance than the traditional armored steel plate. Experiments show that it is strong enough to smash armor-piercing bullets. In addition, its Swiss cheese-like structure makes the steel CMF much lighter than ordinary metal and 65% lighter than the latest tank armor. For example, the American M 1 abrams main battle tank weighs more than 60 tons. In other words, the average armor weight of 12 tons can be reduced to only 4 tons. In this way, the tank can carry more ammunition or save a lot of fuel consumption. At the same time, this Swiss cheese-like structure makes the projectile pass through the steel CMF twice as long as similar stainless steel.
Composite metal foam (CMF) is hollow microbeads formed by one metal in a solid matrix of another metal, such as steel in aluminum. Compared with the previous foam metal, its strength and density ratio are 5-6 times higher. The pores of CMF similar to sponge foam can absorb impact energy well, and its energy absorption capacity can be improved by more than 7 times.
In a live-fire test, a 0.30-caliber M2 armor-piercing projectile was shattered by a steel composite metal foam (CMF) plate with an energy of 2,780 ft-lbs (3,769 Joules).
To test its steel CMF prototype, Labille's team put the steel CMF board 65,438+08 inches (45.7 cm) behind the aluminum fender, and then fired 23? At the aluminum fender with the speed of 1.524m/s, the steel CMF plate of 152mm high-explosive incendiary bomb (HEI) bears not only the explosion pressure, but also the copper and steel fragments produced by shells and aluminum fenders (as shown in the following figure).
In addition, the test also proves that this material can provide good protection for the personnel in the tank from the impact of the shock wave generated by the explosion. Because some explosions will produce shock waves, and these invisible energy waves will cause damage to the brain, and CMF can avoid this damage. The test also shows that CMF has a strong thermal insulation performance, which is twice that of typical stainless steel.
At present, the United States has stepped up the development of steel CMF materials for military applications. The US Army Aviation Application Technology Agency (AATD) has applied this experimental material to Hummer military vehicles. The U.S army is considering it as a substitute for the armor of the next generation M 1 abrams main battle tank and M2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicle.