Armour Materials, Theory, and Design

MODULE 1: Introduction to protection and materials

Part 1: Introduction to Protection

An introduction to armour concepts | The survivability onion | What affects armour performance? | Obliquity |Strength of materials | Whittaker’s approach | Structural vs appliqué | Homogeneous vs laminate | Passive vs reactive vs active | Spacing.

Part 2: Introduction to Armour Materials

How are materials used in armour construction | The structure of materials | The mechanics of material behaviour | An introduction to material properties and testing techniques | Dynamic behaviour.

MODULE 2: Threats 1

Guns including small arms | Ammunition concepts | Armour-Piercing Discarding-Sabot (APDS) rounds | Armour-Piercing Fin-Stabilised Discarding-Sabot (APFSDS) rounds | Shaped charge | A discussion on ammunition construction and performance | Explosively formed projectiles.

MODULE 3: Threats 2

Explosive threats

Introduction to explosives | Detonation | Mechanics of blast | Materials and solutions | Fragmentation effects | Mott’s fragmentation theory | Gurney theory | Calculating the fragment size, velocity and penetration | Drag characteristics | An introduction to bunker busters | Mines.

MODULE 4: Penetration mechanisms

Ballistic failure mechanisms | Low-velocity impact | de Marre theory | Recht penetration theory | High-velocity impact | Hydrodynamic penetration theory | Examples.

MODULE 5: Armour materials I

Part 1: Ceramics

Structure of armour ceramics |Processing of ceramics | Properties of ceramic |Early studies on ceramic armour | Cone formation |High-velocity impact | Studies on the subject of dwell |Shock studies in ceramic materials | Modelling ceramic impact | Current application and challenges | Comparing with other materials | Improving performance | Transparent armour materials.

Part 2: Woven Fabrics and Composite Laminates

Basics | Manufacturing processes of composite laminates | Fibrous materials for armour Applications | Spall shields| Sandwich constructions.

MODULE 6: Armour materials II

Metallic armour materials and structures | Properties and processing of metallic armour | Metallic armour materials| Welding |Sandwich structures | Micro-lattice structures | Metallic foams | Dynamic failure mechanisms.

MODULE 7: Stress Waves and Shock Waves

Calculation of the particle velocity | Elastic waves | Inelastic waves | Shock waves | Rankine-Hugoniot relationships | The Rayleigh line | The isentrope | Temperature rise due to shock | Impedance matching | Calculating the pressure and particle velocity due to collisions | Spall theory | Experimental techniques.

MODULE 8: Reactive and Active Armour Systems

Explosive reactive armour (ERA) | Mechanisms of SC defeat | Explosive initiation mechanisms | Bulging armour |Electric and electromagnetic developments | DROZD | ARENA | Modern hard-kill active defence systems| What about the future?

MODULE 9:  Testing and vulnerability

Ballistic testing techniques | Blast and fragmentation testing techniques | STANAG 4569 | AEP-55 | EN 1522 | EN 1523 | EN 1063 | NIJ standards | Human response to ballistic loading | Human response to blast loading | Limiting blast mine injury to vehicle occupants.

MODULE 10: Computational modelling

Introduction to computer codes including hydrocodes | Discretisation | Empirical vs analytical vs computational | Equations of state | Strength models | Failure models |Erosion models | Modelling blast and ballistic attack.