Armor is a protective material, which is characterized by high stability and resistance to external factors that threaten deformation and a violation of its integrity. It does not matter what kind of protection we are talking about: whether it be knightly armor or the heavy coating of modern combat vehicles, the goal remains the same - to protect from damage and take the brunt.
Homogeneous armor - a protective uniform layer of material that has increased strength and has a uniform chemical composition and the same properties throughout the cross section . This type of protection will be discussed in the article.
Armor History
The first mention of armor is found in medieval sources, we are talking about armor and shields of warriors. Their main purpose was to protect parts of the body from swords, sabers, axes, spears, arrows and other weapons.
With the advent of firearms, there was a need to abandon the use of relatively soft materials in the manufacture of armor and move to more durable and resistant not only to deformations, but also to environmental conditions alloys.
Over time, the decorations used on shields and armor, symbolizing the status and honor of the nobility, began to become a thing of the past. The shape of the armor and shields began to simplify, giving way to practicality.
In fact, all world progress has been reduced to the race of the invention of the latest types of weapons and protection against such. As a result, simplifying the shape of the armor led to a decrease in cost (due to the lack of jewelry), but increased practicality. As a result, armor has become more affordable.
Iron and steel found application further, when the quality and thickness of the armor were at the forefront. The phenomenon resonated in ship- and machine-building, as well as in the strengthening of ground structures and inactive combat units such as catapults and ballistic.
Types of Armor
With the development of metallurgy in the historical plan, improvements in the thickness of the shells were observed, which gradually led to the emergence of modern types of armor (tank, ship, aircraft, etc.).
In the modern world, the arms race does not stop for a minute, which leads to the emergence of new types of protection as a means of counteracting existing types of weapons.
Based on the design features, the following types of armor are distinguished:
- homogeneous;
- reinforced;
- mounted;
- spaced.
Based on the methods of application:
- underbody - any armor worn to protect the body, and it does not matter that it is the armor of a medieval warrior or the body armor of a modern soldier;
- transport - metal alloys in the form of plates, as well as bulletproof glass, the purpose of which is to protect the crew and passengers of equipment;
- ship - armor for protecting ships (underwater and surface parts);
- construction - the type used to protect pillboxes, dugouts and wood-earth firing points (bunkers);
- space - all kinds of shockproof screens and mirrors to protect space stations from orbital debris and the harmful effects of direct sunlight in outer space;
- cable - designed to protect submarine cables from damage and long-term operation in an aggressive environment.
Homogeneous and heterogeneous armor
The materials used to make the armor reflect the development of the outstanding design ideas of engineers. The availability of minerals such as chromium, molybdenum or tungsten, allows the development of high-strength samples; the lack of such creates the need for the development of narrow formations. For example, armor plates that would be easily balanced according to the criterion of value for money.
By appointment, the armor is divided into bulletproof, bulletproof and structural. Armor homogeneous (from the same material over the entire cross-sectional area) or heterogeneous (varies in composition) is used to create both bulletproof coatings and anti-shell ones. But that is not all.
Homogeneous armor has both the same chemical composition over the entire cross-sectional area, and identical chemical and mechanical properties. Heterogeneous can have different mechanical properties (hardened steel on one side, for example).
Rolled Homogeneous Armor
According to the manufacturing method, armor coatings (whether homogeneous or heterogeneous) are divided into:
- Rolled. This is a type of cast armor that has been processed on a rolling machine. Due to compression on the press, the molecules come closer to each other, and the material is densified. This type of heavy-duty armor has one drawback: it does not lend itself to casting. Used on tanks, but only in the form of even plates. On a tank tower, for example, a round one is required.
- Cast. Accordingly, less durable in percentage terms than the previous version. However, such a coating can be used for a tower of tanks. Cast homogeneous armor, of course, will be stronger than heterogeneous. But as they say, a good spoon for dinner.
Destination
If we consider bulletproof protection from conventional and armor-piercing bullets, as well as the effects of fragments of small bombs and shells, then such a surface can be represented in two versions: rolled homogeneous armor, high-strength or heterogeneous cemented with high strength both front and back sides.
Anti-shell (protects from the effects of large projectiles) coating is also represented by several types. The most common of them are rolled and cast homogeneous armor of several strength categories: high, medium and low.
Another type is rolled heterogeneous. It is a cemented coating with hardening on one side, the strength of which decreases "in depth".
The thickness of the armor in relation to hardness in this case is a ratio of 25:15:60 (outer, inner, back layers, respectively).
Application
Russian tanks, like ships, are currently coated with chromium-nickel or nickel-plated steel. Moreover, if during the construction of ships steel armored belts with isothermal hardening are used, then the tanks are surrounded by a composite protective shell, which consists of several layers of materials.
For example, the frontal armor of the Armata universal combat platform is represented by a composite layer, impenetrable for modern anti-tank shells of a caliber of up to 150 mm and sub-caliber arrow-shaped shells of a caliber of up to 120 mm.
And also used cumulative screens. It’s hard to say if this is the best armor. Russian tanks are being improved, and with them the defense is improving.
Armor vs Projectile
Of course, it is unlikely that the tank crew members will keep in mind the detailed tactical and technical characteristics of the combat vehicle, indicating how thick the protective layer is and which projectile it will hold on to which millimeter, as well as whether the armor of the fighting vehicle they use is homogeneous or not.
The properties of modern armor cannot be described by the term “thickness” alone. For the simple reason that the threat from modern shells, against which, in fact, such a protective shell was developed, comes from the kinetic and chemical energy of the shells.
Kinetic energy
Kinetic energy (better to say “kinetic threat”) refers to the ability of a projectile to pierce armor. For example, a depleted uranium or tungsten carbide shell will pierce it through. Homogeneous steel armor is useless against hitting them. There are no criteria by which it can be argued that 200 mm homogeneous are equivalent to 1300 mm heterogeneous.
The secret to countering the shell lies in the location of the armor, which leads to a change in the vector of the projectile's impact on the thickness of the coating.
Cumulative projectile
The chemical threat is represented by such types of shells as anti-tank high-explosive armor-piercing shells (designated by the international nomenclature as HESH) and cumulative (HEAT).
The cumulative shell (contrary to the prevailing opinion and influence of the World Of Tanks game) does not carry a flammable filling. Its action is based on focusing the energy of the impact into a thin stream, which, thanks to high pressure and not temperature, breaks through the protective layer.
Protection against such shells is the build-up of so-called false armor, which takes on the energy of the impact. The simplest example is the tightening of tanks on a mesh netting from old beds during the Second World War by Soviet soldiers.
The Israelis defend their Merkav’s hulls by attaching steel balls hanging on chains to the hull.
Another option is to create dynamic armor. When a directed jet collides from a cumulative projectile with a protective shell, the armor coating detonates. An explosion, as opposed to a cumulative stream, disperses the latter.
Land mine
The action of an armor-piercing high-explosive projectile is reduced to flowing around an armor case in a collision and transmitting a huge shock pulse through a layer of metal. Further, like bowling pins, layers of armor push each other, which leads to deformation. Thus, armor plates are destroyed. Moreover, the layer of armor, scattered, causes injury to the crew.
Protection against HE shells may be the same as from cumulative shells.
Conclusion
One of the historically recorded cases of the use of unusual chemical compounds to protect the tank is the initiative of Germany to cover the technique with zimmerite. This was done to protect the Tigers and Panthers from magnetic mines.
The composition of the zimmerite mixture included elements such as barium sulfate, zinc sulfide, sawdust, ocher pigment and a binder based on polyvinyl acetate.
The use of the mixture began in 1943 and ended in 1944 for the reason that drying took several days, and Germany at that time was already in the losing position.
In the future, the practice of using such a mixture did not find a response anywhere due to the abandonment of infantry using hand-held anti-tank magnetic mines and the appearance of much more powerful types of weapons - anti-tank grenade launchers.