WO2009045584A1 - Procédé de production d'un blindage par encapsulation métallique d'une âme céramique - Google Patents

Procédé de production d'un blindage par encapsulation métallique d'une âme céramique Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2009045584A1
WO2009045584A1 PCT/US2008/067606 US2008067606W WO2009045584A1 WO 2009045584 A1 WO2009045584 A1 WO 2009045584A1 US 2008067606 W US2008067606 W US 2008067606W WO 2009045584 A1 WO2009045584 A1 WO 2009045584A1
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Prior art keywords
sheet metal
container
ceramic
metal container
ceramic tile
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PCT/US2008/067606
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English (en)
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WO2009045584A8 (fr
Inventor
Stephen Dipietro
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Exothermics, Inc
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Application filed by Exothermics, Inc filed Critical Exothermics, Inc
Publication of WO2009045584A1 publication Critical patent/WO2009045584A1/fr
Publication of WO2009045584A8 publication Critical patent/WO2009045584A8/fr

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Classifications

    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B23—MACHINE TOOLS; METAL-WORKING NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • B23K—SOLDERING OR UNSOLDERING; WELDING; CLADDING OR PLATING BY SOLDERING OR WELDING; CUTTING BY APPLYING HEAT LOCALLY, e.g. FLAME CUTTING; WORKING BY LASER BEAM
    • B23K20/00—Non-electric welding by applying impact or other pressure, with or without the application of heat, e.g. cladding or plating
    • B23K20/02—Non-electric welding by applying impact or other pressure, with or without the application of heat, e.g. cladding or plating by means of a press ; Diffusion bonding
    • B23K20/021—Isostatic pressure welding
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F41—WEAPONS
    • F41H—ARMOUR; ARMOURED TURRETS; ARMOURED OR ARMED VEHICLES; MEANS OF ATTACK OR DEFENCE, e.g. CAMOUFLAGE, IN GENERAL
    • F41H5/00—Armour; Armour plates
    • F41H5/02—Plate construction
    • F41H5/04—Plate construction composed of more than one layer
    • F41H5/0414—Layered armour containing ceramic material
    • F41H5/0421—Ceramic layers in combination with metal layers

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to metallic encapsulation of lightweight ceramics for use in personnel and vehicular armor systems. More specifically, it relates to metallic encapsulation of lightweight ceramics providing armor with enhanced ballistic efficiency, physical durability, multiple hit capability, structural integrity, and corrosion resistance.
  • ceramics When ceramics are employed in laminate constructions and are backed with high tensile strength, high-toughness "momentum trap" composites such as Kevlar or Spectra fibers, very mass-efficient armor systems can be designed.
  • the mass efficiency of such ceramic composite armor systems is generally two to five times higher than that associated with high hardness steel or similar high strength metal 1 i c arm or pi ate .
  • Enhanced dwell time on the front face of the ceramic armor leads to a phenomenon that is called interface defeat, wherein the projectile face mushrooms radially outward without significant penetration in the thickness direction; this increases the projectile frontal area and thus decreases its subsequent ability to core a cylindrical plug out of the ceramic armor.
  • the phenomenon of dwell is used to particular advantage in medium or heavy ceramic armor systems that are intended to defeat larger caliber (12.7mm and above) high kinetic energy projectiles. It has been found that physical confinement of ceramics such as B 4 C, SiC or TiE$2 delays the lateral and axial spreading of the comminuted zone ahead of the projectile, thus increasing the ballistic efficiency of the ceramic.
  • Ceramic armor tiles Physical confinement of ceramic armor tiles can be performed by a number of means, such as by shrink-fitting ceramic tiles or bricks into metallic containers, or by other bonding methods involving the use of welded, bolted, brazed or adhesively bonded metallic containers.
  • relatively thin armor tiles less than 0.4 - 0.5" thick
  • light lateral or hydrostatic confinement can be of benefit in delaying the flexural failure of armor tiles on the rear face away from a projectile; this effect can also be used advantageously to increase the ballistic efficiency of ceramic armor-based protection systems.
  • ceramic armor is not without serious engineering and practical shortcomings.
  • High hardness, high elastic modulus ceramic materials such as SiC and B 4 C are very brittle and have poor durability and resistance to dropping or even rough handling under typical field conditions.
  • the low toughness of high performance ceramics implies that essentially all armor-grade ceramics have poor multiple hit capabilities. Once a large ceramic tile such as a torso plate is impacted with a high velocity rifle round, the subsequent impact response of the armor is seriously compromised. This complicates effective tactical employment and packaging of the ceramic armor because additional composite layers which surround the ceramic have to be especially engineered to contain spall fragments, while also limiting adjacent crack damage to the maximum extent practical. Such measures add cost and weight to ceramic armor systems while not significantly enhancing ballistic performance.
  • U.S. Pat. No. 4,987,033 teaches methods for metallic encapsulation of ceramic cores with powdered metal layers that are cold isostatically pressed, vacuum sintered and then hot isostatically pressed to final density. These methods have severe shape limitations, involve the use of relatively costly cold isostatic press tooling, require a complicated and costly multiple step processing sequence, and still require complicated and costly post-machining to produce a metallic encapsulating layer with consistent areal density (which is required for armor system design).
  • the present invention relates to methods for the manufacture of diffusion bonded, metallically encapsulated ceramic armor.
  • the metallically encapsulated ceramic armor made by this method is capable of surviving multiple hits against high velocity anti-armor projectiles with calibers ranging from 0.223" (5.56mm) to over 1.18" (30mm) at muzzle velocity with little or no loss in ballistic efficiency after the first impact. It has been found that the present invention leaves largely intact regions of ceramic for cases in which impacts are spaced apart by distances on the order often projectile diameters. This represents an improvement of 5X or more in multiple hit capability over other state-of-the-art unencapsulated and polymer or metallically encapsulated ceramic armor systems.
  • the manufacturing process makes use of widely available sheet metal forming methods and isostatic densification equipment, thus a very modest infrastructure for preparing unbonded conformal sheet metal containers and hot isostatic pressurization containers is all that is required to embark on full-scale production.
  • the present invention is further capable of diffusion bonding a wide range of metals (e.g., titanium alloys, aluminum alloys, magnesium alloys, and steels) to ceramics (e.g., alumina, boron carbide, silicon carbide and titanium diboride).
  • metals e.g., titanium alloys, aluminum alloys, magnesium alloys, and steels
  • ceramics e.g., alumina, boron carbide, silicon carbide and titanium diboride.
  • Grade 2 titanium or alpha/beta alloys such as TU6A1-4V may effectively be solid- state diffusion bonded to silicon carbide or boron carbide using a combined ramp/soak schedule in a hot isostatic press, superplastic forming tool, or similar closed mold assembly which is capable of providing peak temperatures in the vicinity of 850 - 1100 0 C (1560 - 2012 0 F) and peak pressures of approximately 70 - lOOMPa (10 - 15ksi).
  • Aluminum or magnesium alloys such as 5052 Al or 321 Mg may also be solid-state diffusion bonded to silicon carbide or boron carbide using a combined ramp/soak schedule in a hot isostatic press, superplastic forming die set, or similar closed mold assembly which is capable of providing peak temperatures in the vicinity of 550 - 600 0 C (1020 - 11 12°F) and peak pressures of approximately 35 - l OOMPa (5 - 15ksi).
  • the present invention produces metallically encapsulated ceramic armor with excellent shear properties and good physical durability. Since the invention in its most basic form involves the use of commercially available sheet metal material for encapsulation, the areal density of the encapsulated armor is extremely repeatable and controllable. It is limited only by the availability of suitable sheet metal products.
  • the articles produced from this invention can also be produced with varying degrees of lateral or hydrostatic confinement by simply varying the thickness and physical properties (i.e., coefficient of thermal expansion, elastic modulus). Other properties such as corrosion resistance and weldability can also be tailored to the engineering requirements of a given syslem by choosing a suitable pure metal or alloy.
  • metallically encapsulated ceramic armor with excellent corrosion resistance in marine or salt spray environments can be produced by using Grade 2 titanium or suitable alpha or beta titanium alloys as the encapsulating material, thus simplifying maintenance and logistical requirements for the armor system.
  • the present invention is not limited to being practiced with titanium or aluminum alloys as the encapsulating material.
  • Any metal layer which is thermodynaniically compatible with the underlying ceramic tile and which can be formed by standard sheet metal or similar metallurgical forming methods is a potential candidate.
  • the metals that could be considered for solid or liquid-phase assisted diffusion bonding as described in this invention disclosure would be titanium, aluminum, magnesium, steel, nickel, tantalum, zirconium or niobium.
  • Solid-state diffusion bonding as described herein is characterized by interatomic or molecular bonding between the mating metal and ceramic surfaces. Intimate contact and bonding, the degree of which can be controlled by suitable application of processing parameter and interphase layers, is brought about via simultaneous combination of applied temperature and pressure.
  • the diffusion bonding conditions needed to bond metallic encapsulating layers to ceramic armor substrates are developed for each materials combination of interest, largely based on factors such as melting point, self-diffusion coefficients, chemical diffusivity and yield stress.
  • active metal e.g., Ti-, Zr-, Ni-modified
  • active metal e.g., Ti-, Zr-, Ni-modified
  • solders or metallic foils with eutectic melting points lower than the melting point of the metal or ceramic pieces to be joined may be chosen to enhance bonding strength.
  • eutectic forming 4047- based aluminum alloys may be used to promote transient liquid phase bonding of titanium and/or aluminum alloys to silicon carbide or boron carbide ceramics.
  • Metallically encapsulated ceramic armor articles formed by the method of the present invention can have tailored thermal expansion and elastic modulus behavior providing for a controllable degree of lateral and/or hydrostatic confinement on the ceramic armor tiles to which they are bonded. This affords the possibility to optimize a given materials system according to the dictates of a given penetration mechanics or finite element structural model.
  • FIG. 1 is a drawing showing the sheet metal forming techniques used to produce (double) encapsulated hexagonal ceramic tile array;
  • FIG. 2 is a pre-assembly photograph of an isostatic pressurization container;
  • FlG. 3 is a post diffusion bonding run photograph of an unopened isostatic pressurization container showing plastic deformation of container walls;
  • FIG. 4 is a drawing of hexagonal sintered SiC ceramic tiles encapsulated with a single layer of metallurgically bonded 0.010" thick grade 2 titanium layer on all sides;
  • FIG. 5 is a photograph of sintered SiC ceramic tiles encapsulated with a single layer of metallurgically bonded 0.010" thick grade 2 titanium layer on all sides;
  • FIG. 6 is an optical micrograph of the interface between sintered SiC and commercial purity (grade 2) titanium showing metallurgical bonding and reaction layer formation.
  • the present invention is a method for metallic encapsulation of ceramic tiles to produce armor.
  • the embodiment of the method begins with selecting a ceramic tile of the desired geometry, which may include, for example, a flat plate or a torso plate.
  • the method then comprises the fabrication of a conformal sheet metal container, wherein suitable sheet or plate stock ranging from 0.005" (0.0127cm) to 0.250" (0.635cm) in thickness is made in the shape of the ceramic tile to be encapsulated.
  • the sheet metal envelope can be formed by methods such as brake-forming, shearing, hydroforming, deep drawing, stamping or superplastic forming.
  • the conformal sheet metal container is made with dimensions that are modestly oversized relative to the ceramic tile [+ 0.005" - 0.010" (0.0127 - 0.0254cm)] so that the container fits comfortably around the tile, facilitating easy assembly.
  • FIG. 1 An example of a sheet metal container design 10 that allows for double encapsulation of individual hexagonally shaped ceramic tiles, as well as a three-tile array, is shown in Figure 1.
  • This basic design can readily be adapted to different shapes such as rectangular or cylindrical tiles, as forming methods such as brake-forming, automated punching, stamping and spinning may be advantageously employed for fabrication of essentially an infinite variety of sheet metal container shapes. Additionally metallic encapsulation of even larger tile arrays can be done by replicating unit cells of containers that enclose multiple ceramic tiles.
  • Titanium, aluminum, and magnesium alloys have all been successfully employed, and it is obvious to those trained in the art that other metals, such as niobium, tantalum, copper, chromium, nickel and zirconium, would also work well.
  • the ceramic tile is then placed in the sheet metal container.
  • a full-lap or half-lap joint is applied on the ninety degree portions of the bend, as seen in Figure I .
  • Such a fabrication approach provides for full encapsulation of the ceramic tile edges and good lateral confinement of the ceramic tile during impact. Edges are also protected against accidental impact using this container design.
  • tack welds using TIG or MIG methods are typically employed at all open corner seams although this is not an absolute necessity for the encapsulation to function successfully.
  • the sheet metal container is then tack-welded to initial closure.
  • the closed sheet metal container is then ready for placement into a granular bed that serves as the pressure transmission vehicle to the ceramic tiles in the sheet metal container.
  • An isostatic pressurization container and powder bed is made using a simple, inexpensive box or cylindrical can into which the closed sheet metal container and the granular bed material is placed.
  • the isostatic pressurization container may be constructed of any suitable sheet metal product (e.g., aluminum, steel, titanium, stainless steel) that has a melting point higher than the diffusion bonding temperature of the sheet metal container and the ceramic tile and which is also capable of undergoing reasonable levels of plastic deformation (10 - 15%)
  • Typical wall thicknesses for the isostatic pressurization container are in the range of 0.040" - 0.060" (0.1 - 0.15cm).
  • the container is fabricated using the same sheet metal forming and welding methods employed to fabricate the sheet metal container holding the ceramic tile.
  • An example of an isostatic pressurization container 20 is shown in Figure 2.
  • the granular bed material needs to be free-flowing and thermodynamically compatible with the isostatic pressurization container and the sheet metal container.
  • the isostatic pressurization container cover When the isostatic pressurization container has been filled to the top with one or more sheet metal containers holding ceramic tiles and granular bed material, a cover is welded to the isostatic pressurization container to effect physical closure.
  • the isostatic pressurization container cover also will have a pump-off and degassing tube connected to it so as to allow for connection of the isostatic pressurization container to a vacuum pump system.
  • the pumping tube should have a diameter of at least ' ⁇ " (1.27cm) so that reasonable conductance to the pumping system can be achieved.
  • the isostatic pressurization container and its content After being connected to a vacuum system, the isostatic pressurization container and its content are placed into an oven or kiln that permits ramp/soak heating, with slower ramping schedules being used for large isostatic pressurization containers with many sheet metal containers contained within.
  • Roots blower pumping stations are ideally suited for container degassing since they have high throughput over a wide pressure range for a variety of molecular species such as H2O, CO2, etc. These types of vacuum pumping systems are also well suited for complete degassing of very large containers.
  • the isostatic pressurization container When the isostatic pressurization container and its contents of ceramic tiles encapsulated in sheet metal containers and granular bed material have been sufficiently degassed as determined by a residual gas analyzer and vacuum gauge, the isostatic pressurization container is hermetically sealed by hydraulically crimping and then TlG welding the crimped region of the pump-off tube. This operation separates the pump-off tube from the vacuum pumping system while not breaking vacuum, thus ensuring that the a sealed vacuum still exists inside the isostatic pressurization container.
  • the isostatic pressurization container and its contents are then ready for diffusion bonding in a diffusion bonding chamber, which is most typically a hot isostatic press (“HlP”) unit.
  • HlP hot isostatic press
  • the diffusion bonding chamber need not be a HlP.
  • It may be any furnace or closed chamber that is capable of providing isostatic gas pressure to peak pressures of 70 - lOOMPa (10 - 15ksi) and a controlled thermal ramp/soak profile to peak temperatures of approximately 1000 0 C (1832°F) is suitable for diffusion bonding purposes.
  • a typical diffusion bonding chamber is a HIP that is capable of applying programmable temperature and pressure cycles to any type of sealed container or body which has a gas-tight surface.
  • Very large HIP units having dimensions of 150cm (60") and 250cm (100") height are available at locations such as Bodycote IMT, Andover, MA, for processing of production-sized furnace loads.
  • the isostatic pressurization container is then subjected to suitable temperature and reserve ramp cycles.
  • Different pressure and temperature ramp cycles are appropriate for direct diffusion bonding of titanium, aluminum and magnesium alloys to materials such as silicon carbide (St. Gobain/Carborundum Hexoloy SA SiC) or hot pressed boron carbide (St. Gobain/Carborundum hot pressed B 4 C).
  • One such cycle that can be used for direct diffusion bonding of 0.013 - 0.4cm (0.005 - 0.100”) thickness alpha or alpha/beta titanium alloy sheet to pressureless-sintered silicon carbide is the following:
  • Step 1 Purge/pump HIP vessel using standard purge cycle; Pull ⁇ 500mTorr (665mbar) vacuum
  • Step 2 Initial pressure for start of cycle is 7MPa (1000 psi)
  • Step 3 Ramp at 5.5°C/min (10°F/min) to 425°C (800 0 F) while maintaining pressure at 3.5MPa (500psi)
  • Step 4 Hold at 425°C (800 0 F) for 60 minutes at pressure of 3.5MPa (500psi)
  • Step 5 Ramp at 5.5°C/min (10°F/min) to 880 0 C (1615 0 F) while pressurizing at 0.4MPa/min (60psi/min) to lOOMPa (15,000psi)
  • Step 6 Hold at 880 0 C (1615°F) for 300 mins while maintaining pressure at 100MPa (14,750psi)
  • Step 7 Cool and release pressure at natural pressure and temperature decay rate for HIP unit
  • Step 8 Vent and unload once contents are below 177°C (350 0 F)
  • the isostatic pressurization container is cut apart and the sheet metal containers holding the ceramic tiles are extracted.
  • a diffusion bond now exists between the sheet metal container and the underlying ceramic tile.
  • Two isostatic pressurization containers 30, 31 after diffusion bonding processing are shown in Figure 3. Note the evidence of plastic deformation on the container sidewalls.
  • Figures 4 and 5, respectively, show a group of hexagonal 40 and square 50 Hexoloy SA SiC tiles that have been encapsulated with 0.05cm (0.020") Grade 2 Ti sheet. Note the presence of a lap joint of approximately 0.3cm (0.120") width on the edges of all of the SiC tiles. This ensures good lateral confinement of the tiles, though other types of edge joints can also easily be made such as butt joints or full lap joints.
  • the present invention refers to methods for encapsulation and diffusion bonding of various metals using temperature and pressure as applied in a diffusion bonding chamber
  • metallic encapsulating layers with other properties of interest such as reversible phase change or dilatancy could also be encompassed within the scope of the present invention, and that such metallic encapsulating layers will require different diffusion bonding parameters according to the types of the ceramic and metals being bonded.
  • the principles of the invention have been described herein, it is to be understood by those skilled in the art that this description is made only by way of example and not as a limitation as to the scope of the invention. Other embodiments are contemplated within the scope of the present invention in addition to the exemplary embodiments shown and described herein. Modifications and substitutions by one of ordinary skill in the art are considered to be within the scope of the present invention.

Abstract

L'invention porte sur un procédé qui permet de fabriquer, par une liaison par diffusion, un blindage céramique à encapsulation métallique offrant une efficacité ballistique et une durabilité physique améliorées.
PCT/US2008/067606 2007-06-20 2008-06-20 Procédé de production d'un blindage par encapsulation métallique d'une âme céramique WO2009045584A1 (fr)

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US93643507P 2007-06-20 2007-06-20
US60/936,435 2007-06-20

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Cited By (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US20120186426A1 (en) * 2009-02-12 2012-07-26 Ward Nathaniel J Tile grid substructure for pultruded ballistic screens

Citations (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3616115A (en) * 1968-09-24 1971-10-26 North American Rockwell Lightweight ballistic armor
US4667497A (en) * 1985-10-08 1987-05-26 Metals, Ltd. Forming of workpiece using flowable particulate
US4987033A (en) * 1988-12-20 1991-01-22 Dynamet Technology, Inc. Impact resistant clad composite armor and method for forming such armor

Patent Citations (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3616115A (en) * 1968-09-24 1971-10-26 North American Rockwell Lightweight ballistic armor
US4667497A (en) * 1985-10-08 1987-05-26 Metals, Ltd. Forming of workpiece using flowable particulate
US4987033A (en) * 1988-12-20 1991-01-22 Dynamet Technology, Inc. Impact resistant clad composite armor and method for forming such armor

Cited By (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US20120186426A1 (en) * 2009-02-12 2012-07-26 Ward Nathaniel J Tile grid substructure for pultruded ballistic screens
US8424442B2 (en) * 2009-02-12 2013-04-23 Raytheon Company Tile grid substructure for pultruded ballistic screens

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Publication number Publication date
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