EP0599386A1

EP0599386A1 - A panel for protection against projectiles, splinters, etc.

Info

Publication number: EP0599386A1
Application number: EP93203196A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Kaj Eric Granqvist
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1992-11-23
Filing date: 1993-11-16
Publication date: 1994-06-01
Also published as: SE9203513L; SE470340B; SE9203513D0

Abstract

The disclosure relates to a composite panel for protection against projectiles, splinters, etc. The panel is primarily arranged to supplement the outer shell or carapace of a vehicle or the like so that the overall protection against projectiles, splinters, etc. is considerably increased without the weight of the vehicle or the like being correspondingly increased.

The protective panel according to the present invention comprises a relatively large number of strata 2-7 or layers of woven fibres of different mesh sizes and, thereby, different surface weights. These layers are located in mutually different directions and are mutually offset. In addition, these layers are compressed under pressure and during provision of heat with a binder of the thermoplastic, curing and/or vulcanizing type.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a composite panel for protection against projectiles, splinters, etc., the panel being primarily arranged to supplement the outer shell or carapace of the vehicle, etc. so that the overall protection against projectiles, splinters, etc. is considerably increased without the weight of the vehicle or the like being correspondingly increased.

BACKGROUND ART

There is a need in the art to protect various kinds of relatively light vehicles and equipments, etc. against splinters, projectiles and so on with the purpose of thereby increasing the usability of the vehicles or equipments in various contexts. Examples of such vehicles are light tank vehicles (LTV) with a body of fibre-reinforced plastic, private vehicles, aircrafts, boats, etc. for increased protection against assassination attempts.
Composite materials known in the art today offer the possibility of designing and constructing additional protection while keeping the weight at a reasonable level.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

The object of the present invention is to propose a safety panel that, in relation to its light natural weight, provides extraordinarily high protective levels against projectiles, splinters, etc.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS

The present invention will be described in greater detail herein below, with particular reference to the accompanying drawings.
In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a schematic cross-section through a protective panel constructed according to the present invention;
Fig. 2 shows the protective panel of Fig. 1, supplemented with a set of first anchorage devices;
Fig. 3 is a schematic cross-section through the protective panel of Fig. 1, with a set of second anchorage devices;
Fig. 4 shows the construction of one kind of vehicle in which the present invention according to, for instance, Figs. 1 and 2, may be put into practice;
Fig. 5 shows a plot chart of various target shootings of different protective panels with cylindrical splinters weighing 3.6 g; and
Fig. 6 shows a compilation of target shootings of different protective panels with cylindrical splinters weighing 1.1 g.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The fundamental design and construction of a protective panel according to the present invention are shown in greater detail in Fig. 1, and are including a large number of layers or strata of woven material of, for example, the aramide fibre type with different densities, these layers being laid mutually offset and in mutually different directions. In addition, these layers - which have been given reference numerals 2-7 in Fig. 1 - are bonded together and are mutually interacted with the aid of curing and/or vulcanizing materials such as, for example, epoxy, which becomes hard after curing, and/or of the silicon type which retains its elasticity after curing, or a combination of said material types, and are compressed during the curing operation during provision of heat in a press, which is arranged to generate a relatively high pressure of the order of magnitude of 600 tonnes per square metre, as has been intimated by arrows in Fig. 1. The above strata or layers of woven material may consist, for example, of between 10 and 50 layers and advantageously of between 20 and 30 layers, as will be disclosed in greater detail herein below with particular reference to tests carried out according to Figs. 5 and 6. The protective panel according to Fig. 1 further includes surface layers 1a, 1b, which preferably consists of a suitable elastically resilient material, for example heavy-duty rubber of the industrial type.
The protective panel according to the present invention may, as is schematically intimated in Fig. 2, be secured against the inside of the sheet metal of, for example, a vehicle with the aid of, for instance, Velcro tape 8 or other suitable anchorage devices, secured against the one surface layer of the protective panel. Fig. 4 shows an LTV composed of a number of panel sections, these panel sections being each advantageously provided with a protective panel according to the present invention.
The above-mentioned protective panel according to Fig. 1 may also be applied to the outer sheet metal 12 of a vehicle - see Fig. 3 - with the aid, for example, of two bent plates 13 and 14, in which event shock-absorbing material 9, 10 of resiliently yieldable type such as rubber, springs, etc., and optionally an aluminium sheet 11 may also advantageously be disposed between the outer sheet casing 12 of the vehicle and the protective panel proper, to further improving the protective effect of the protective panel on site.
Various designs and constructions of protective panels will be disclosed in greater detail herein below with reference to Figs. 5 and 6, commencing with a review of the designs and constructions disclosed with reference to Fig. 6, which shows the limit velocity in metres per second as a function of the surface weight in kilos per square metre of various materials and combinations of materials on target shooting with a cylindrical splinter weighing 1.1 g.
At that point in Fig. 6 that is marked with "a", is shown a protective panel that comprises plies of 6 mm vinyl, it being apparent that the limit velocity for this material combination is approximately 360 m/s at a surface weight of approximately 6 kg/m². Point "b" shows a protective panel that comprises glass in three layers with a thickness of 8.5 mm, it being apparent that the weight is more than three times greater than for protective panel "b", even though the limit velocity is slightly lower than for protective panel "a". At point "c" is shown a protective panel, which consists of glass in three layers of a thickness of 11 mm, at "d" is disclosed a protective panel, which consists of plies including Kevlar with steel inlays in plastic of 15 mm and the panel of the vehicle consisted of plastic with spacer material of aluminium of 43.3 spacing, at "e", the protective panel consisted of glass fibre of 32 mm spacing, at "f" is shown a protective panel, which consisted of plies including Kevlar of a spacing of 28 mm, at "g" is shown the limit velocity of a safety vest as a function of its weight and the values of this safety vest have been selected to constitute a reference level, at "h" is disclosed a protective panel, which consists of 6 mm ply fabric including Kevlar, at "i" is disclosed a cover, which consists of aluminium and 6.3 mm plies including Kevlar, at "j" a protective panel, which consists of plies including Kevlar of 3 layers at a spacing of 32 mm, at "k" is indicated a protective panel, which consists of 22 mm silicate concrete, at "l" is disclosed a protective panel, which consists of 10 mm ply laminate including Kevlar, at "m" is disclosed a protective panel, which consists of glass fibre laminate of 10 mm, at "n" is disclosed a protective panel, which consists of glass fibre reinforced plastic of 9 mm, at "o" is disclosed a protective panel, which consists of 9.5 mm ply lamination including Kevlar, at "p" is disclosed a protective panel, which consists of plies of Kevlar in rubber of 5 mm, at "q" is disclosed a protective panel consisting of 3 mm thick steel and at "r" is disclosed a protective panel consisting of a ply laminate including Kevlar of 18 mm.
As protective panel 1A according to the present invention - see point 1A in Fig. 6 with the lowest limit velocity - use was made, together with a certain vehicle panel designated Bv FMV 5, of an aramide fibre panel with rubber coatings according to Fig. 1, of a surface weight of 6 kg/m² (16 fabrics or layers), with the fibre fabrics vulcanized or cured and the protective panels were formed with the aid of a press during provision of heat and after cooling. This resulted in a limit velocity of approximately 500 m/s at a surface weight of approximately 17 kg/m².
With another vehicle panel, designated Bv FMV 6, together with protective panel 1A, manufactured as above, there was obtained a higher limit velocity, as is apparent from Fig. 6, the next highest limit velocity of approximately 700 m/s, and with just a further vehicle panel designated Bv FMV 4, there was obtained, together with the protective panel 1A according to the above, a high limit velocity of almost 800 m/s.
As protective panel 1A1B according to the present invention - see that point that is marked 1A1B in Fig. 6 - use was made, together with a certain vehicle panel entitled Bv FMV 5, of an aramide fibre panel with a rubber matrix according to Fig. 1, of two surface weights of which one is 6 kg/m² (16 fabrics of layers), and the other is 7 kg/m² (19 fabrics or layers), with the fibre fabrics vulcanized or cured and the protective panels were formed with the aid of a press during provision of heat and after cooling. This resulted - as is apparent from the above-mentioned point 1A1B - in a limit velocity of approximately 800 m/s at a surface weight of approx. 24 kg/m².
As protective panel IIA according to the present invention - see that point that is marked with IIA in Fig. 6 - use was made, together with a certain vehicle panel entitled Bv FMV 5, of an aramide fibre panel with a polyethylene matrix according to Fig. 1 of a surface weight of 6 kg/m² (18 fabrics or layers), with the fibre fabrics and polyethylene film overlaid with one another and the protective panels were formed with the aid of a press during provision of heat and after cooling. This resulted in a limit velocity of approximately 750 m/s at a surface weight of approximately 17.5 kg/m².
As protective panel IIB according to the present invention - see that point which is marked IIB in Fig. 6 - use was made, together with a certain vehicle panel entitled Bv FMV 8, of an aramide fibre panel with a polyethylene matrix according to Fig. 1 of a surface weight of 7 kg/m² (21 fibres or layers) with fibre layers and polyethylene film overlaid on one another and formed with the aid of a press during provision of heat and after cooling. This resulted in a limit velocity of approximately 800 m/s at a surface weight of approx. 18 kg/m².
As protective panel IIIA according to the present invention - see that point that is marked IIIA in Fig. 6 - use was made, together with a certain vehicle panel entitled Bv FMV 7, of a polyethylene fibre panel with a polyethylene matrix according to Fig. 1 of a surface weight of 6 kg/m² (35 fabrics or layers), and a surface weight of 7 kg/m² (40 fabrics or layers) with the fibre fabrics and polyethylene film overlay one another and the protective panels formed with the aid of a press during provision of heat and after cooling. This resulted in a limit velocity of approximately 750 m/s at a surface weight of approx. 17.5 kg/m².
Fig. 5 shows the limit velocity in metres per second as a function of the surface weight in kilograms per square metre for different materials and combinations of materials on target shooting with a cylindrical splinter of 3.6 g. In point "a" is disclosed a selected reference level and this also relates to a safety vest in this case. By point "b" is indicated the surface weight and limit velocity for 3 mm steel, by point "c" is disclosed surface weight and limit velocity for aluminium of 11 mm thickness, by point "d" is disclosed surface weight and limit velocity for a panel consisting of aluminium, plies including Kevlar, acrylonitryl, acrylic glass of 24.5 mm, by point "e" is disclosed surface weight and limit velocity for a panel consisting of glass fibre and acrylonitryl, by point "f" is disclosed surface weight and limit velocity for a panel consisting of aluminium, glass fibre, foam and plies including Kevlar of 35 mm, by point "g" are disclosed surface weight and limit velocity of 6 mm steel, by point "h" is disclosed surface weight and limit velocity for 8 mm steel, by point "i" is disclosed surface weight and limit velocity for 18 mm aluminium, by point "j" is disclosed surface weight and limit velocity for 25 mm aluminium, and by point IIIA is disclosed surface weight and limit velocity for a panel of type Bv FMV 7 provided with a protective panel consisting of aramide laminate IIIA.

Claims

A composite panel for protection against projectiles, splinters, etc., the panel being primarily arranged to supplement the outer shell or carapace of a vehicle, etc., such that the overall protection against projectiles, splinters, etc. is considerably increased without the weight of the vehicle, etc. being correspondingly increased,
characterized in that it comprises a relatively large number of strata (2-7) or layers of woven fibres of various mesh sees and thereby different surface weights, the strata or layers being located in mutually different directions and being mutually offset, and said layers having been compressed under pressure and provision of heat with a binder of thermoplastic, curing and/or vulcanizing type.
The protective panel as claimed in Claim 1,
characterized in that it includes surface layers on one or both sides of the panel consisting of an elastic material.
The protective panel as claimed in Claim 1 or 2,
characterized in that it comprises woven fibres of the aramide type of different surface weights, the woven fibres being, before vulcanization and/or curing, sandwiched with thermoplastic, vulcanizable and/or curable foil films.
The protective panel as claimed in any of the preceding Claims,
characterized in that it comprises a number of strata or layers between 10 and 50, preferably between 20 and 30 in number.
The protective panel as claimed in any one of the preceding Claims,
characterized in that it includes Velcro tape (8) or other suitable type of anchorage devices, fixed at the one surface layer (1a of the panel).
The protective panel as claimed in any one of Claims 1-4,
characterized in that it includes a further impulse-absorbing detail (9, 10, 11), preferably consisting of rubber cushions (9, 10) and an aluminium sheet (11) between the outer layer of the vehicle (12) or the like and the actual protective panel (1-7).