Ballistic Evaluation of TIMETAL~R6-4 Plate for Protection Against Armor Piercing Projectiles

摘要

TIMETAL~R6-4 (Ti-6A1-4V) plate 6 to 50mm (0.25 to 2in) thick was tested against various types of armor piercing projectiles, including 7.62mm (caliber .30) AP M2, 12.7mm (caliber .50) AP M2, 14.5mm API B32, and 20mm APIT. The alloy exhibited a very high ballistic protection mass efficiency; thus, substantial weight reduction can be achieved on ground combat vehicles by substituting titanium alloys for conventional metallic materials in ballistic protection systems. In this paper, results of ballistic tests are summarized, failure modes are described, relationships between the ballistic limit and plate thickness are provided, and example applications are discussed.