Homogeneous armor in modern tanks: strength, ricochet

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

Armor is a protective material that is characterized by high stability and resistance to external factors that threaten deformation and violation of its integrity. It does not matter what kind of protection we are talking about: whether it is 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 is a protective homogeneous layer of material that has increased strength and has a uniform chemical composition and the same properties throughout the cross section. It is this type of protection that will be discussed in the article.

History of armor

The first mentions of armor are found in medieval sources, we are talking about armor and shields of warriors. Their main purpose was to protect body parts from swords, sabers, axes, spears, arrows and other weapons.

With the advent of firearms, it became necessary to abandon the use of relatively soft materials in the manufacture of armor and move on to alloys that are stronger and more resistant not only to deformation, but also to environmental conditions.

Over time decoration,used on shields and armor, symbolizing the status and honor of the nobility, began to become a thing of the past. The shape of armor and shields began to simplify, giving way to practicality.

In fact, the entire world progress has been reduced to a race of speeds inventing the latest types of weapons and protecting against them. As a result, the simplification of the shape of the armor led to a decrease in cost (due to the lack of decorations), but increased practicality. As a result, armor has become more affordable.

Iron and steel continued to find use when the quality and thickness of the armor were at the forefront. The phenomenon resonated in shipbuilding and mechanical engineering, as well as in strengthening ground structures and inactive combat units like catapults and ballistas.

Types of armor

With the development of metallurgy in historical terms, improvements in the thickness of the shells were observed, which gradually led to the appearance of modern types of armor (tank, ship, aviation, 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 weapons.

Based on the design features, the following types of armor are distinguished:

• homogeneous;
• reinforced;
• mounted;
• split.

Based on usage:

• body armor - any armor worn to protect the body, no matter what it is - the armor of a medieval warrior or the bulletproof vest of a modern soldier;
• transport - metal alloys in the form of plates, as well as bulletproofglass, the purpose of which is to protect the crew and passengers of equipment;
• ship - armor to protect ships (underwater and surface);
• construction - a type used to protect pillboxes, dugouts and wood-and-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 durable operation in an aggressive environment.

Armor homogeneous and heterogeneous

The materials used to make armor reflect the development of outstanding design ideas of engineers. The availability of minerals such as chromium, molybdenum or tungsten allows the development of high-strength specimens; the absence of such creates the need to develop narrowly targeted formations. For example, armor plates that could easily be balanced according to the criterion of value for money.

According to purpose, armor is divided into bulletproof, anti-ballistic and structural. Homogeneous armor (from the same material over the entire cross-sectional area) or heterogeneous (different in composition) is used to create both bulletproof and anti-ballistic coatings. But that's not all.

Homogeneous armor has both the same chemical composition over the entire cross-sectional area, and identical chemical and mechanical properties. The heterogeneous one can have different mechanical properties (hardenedone side is steel, for example).

Rolled homogeneous armor

According to the manufacturing method, armor (whether homogeneous or heterogeneous) coatings are divided into:

• Rolled. This is a type of cast armor that has been processed on a rolling machine. Due to the compression on the press, the molecules approach each other, and the material is compacted. This type of heavy-duty armor has one drawback: it cannot be cast. Used on tanks, but only in the form of flat plates. On a tank turret, 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 tank turrets. Cast homogeneous armor, of course, will be stronger than heterogeneous. But, as they say, a good spoon for dinner.

Purpose

If we consider bulletproof protection against conventional and armor-piercing bullets, as well as the effects of fragments of small bombs and shells, then such a surface can be presented in two versions: rolled homogeneous high-strength armor or heterogeneous cemented armor with high strength both front and back sides.

Protivosnaryadnaya (protects against 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.

One more type - rolled heterogeneous. It is a cemented coating with hardening on one side,whose strength 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 covered with nickel-chromium or nickel-plated steel. Moreover, if a steel armored belt with isothermal hardening is used in the construction of ships, then the tanks are overgrown with 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 that is impenetrable for modern anti-tank projectiles up to 150 mm caliber and sub-caliber arrow-shaped projectiles up to 120 mm caliber.

And anti-cumulative screens are also used. It's hard to say if it's the best armor or not. Russian tanks are improving, and with them the defense is improving.

Armor vs Projectile

Of course, it is unlikely that the members of the tank crew keep in mind the detailed tactical and technical characteristics of the combat vehicle, indicating what is the thickness of the protective layer and what projectile at what millimeter it will contain, as well as the fact that the armor of the combat vehicle they use is homogeneous machine or not.

The properties of modern armor cannot be described by the concept of "thickness" alone. For the simple reason that the threat from modern projectiles, against which, in fact, such a protective shell was developed, comes from the kinetic and chemical energy of the projectiles.

Kinetic energy

Kinetic energy (it's better to say "kinetic threat") means the ability of a projectile blank to flash through armor. For example, a projectile made of depleted uranium or tungsten carbide will pierce it through. Homogeneous steel armor is useless against hitting those. There are no criteria by which it can be argued that 200 mm homogeneous is equivalent to 1300 mm heterogeneous.

The secret of countering the projectile lies in the location of the armor, which leads to a change in the vector of impact of the projectile on the thickness of the coating.

HEAT projectile

The chemical threat is represented by such types of projectiles as anti-tank high-explosive armor-piercing (according to international nomenclature, designated as HESH) and cumulative (HEAT).

The HEAT projectile (contrary to popular belief and the influence of the World Of Tanks game) does not carry a flammable filling. Its action is based on focusing the impact energy into a thin jet, which, thanks to high pressure, and not temperature, breaks through the protective layer.

Protection against this kind of projectiles is the build-up of the so-called false armor, which takes on the impact energy. The simplest example is Soviet soldiers covering tanks with chain-link mesh from old beds during World War II.

Israelis protect their Merkav hulls by attaching steel balls hanging from chains to the hulls.

Another option is to create dynamic armor. When a directed jet from a cumulative projectile collides with a protective shellarmor detonation occurs. An explosion directed in opposition to the cumulative jet leads to dispersion of the latter.

Land mine

The action of an armor-piercing high-explosive projectile is reduced to the flow around the body of the armor during a collision and the transfer of a huge shock impulse through a layer of metal. Further, like pins in a bowling alley, the layers of armor push each other, which leads to deformation. Thus, the armor plates are destroyed. Moreover, the layer of armor, flying apart, injures the crew.

Protection against HE rounds can be the same as against HEAT rounds.

Conclusion

One of the historically recorded cases of the use of unusual chemical compositions to protect the tank is the German initiative to coat vehicles with zimmerite. This was done to protect the hulls of the "Tigers" and "Panthers" from magnetic mines.

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 required several days, and Germany at that time was already in the position of the losing side.

In the future, the practice of using such a mixture did not find a response anywhere due to the refusal of the infantry to use hand-held anti-tank magnetic mines and the appearance of much more powerful types of weapons - anti-tank grenade launchers.