초록 ▼

A composite armor 10 and method for making it. The armor 10 has a honeycomb core 12 that is provided with polygonal openings 14 and oppositely facing sides 16, 18 . Inserts 20 are placed within at least some of the openings. A pair of sheets 22, 24 are respectively secured to the oppositely facing s

A composite armor 10 and method for making it. The armor 10 has a honeycomb core 12 that is provided with polygonal openings 14 and oppositely facing sides 16, 18 . Inserts 20 are placed within at least some of the openings. A pair of sheets 22, 24 are respectively secured to the oppositely facing sides of the honeycomb core to close the openings, thereby containing fracture debris after impact, and to provide reinforcement. One method of making the composite armor includes: providing a honeycomb core having polygonal openings; adhering a sheet to cover the polygonal openings that are located on one side of the honeycomb core; at least partially filling at least some of the openings with a resin; placing one or more inserts within at least some of the openings; and adhering a front sheet to the oppositely facing side of the honeycomb core. A preferred manufacturing practice involves resin infusion.

대표청구항 ▼

1. A composite armor comprising:a cellular structure having polygonal openings and oppositely facing sides between which the openings extend;a plurality of ceramic inserts that are bounded by convex surfaces and are respectively received by the polygonal openings of the cellular structure such that

1. A composite armor comprising:a cellular structure having polygonal openings and oppositely facing sides between which the openings extend;a plurality of ceramic inserts that are bounded by convex surfaces and are respectively received by the polygonal openings of the cellular structure such that the inserts individually are spaced and isolated from each other and so that there is one insert in a given opening; anda pair of sheets respectively secured to the oppositely facing sides of the cellular structure to close the openings thereof, thereby providing chemical, physical, and environmental durability, containing fracture debris after impact, and providing structural reinforcement. 2. A composite armor as in claim 1 wherein the cellular structure is made of a material selected from the group consisting of stainless steel, aluminum, an aramid fiber, phenolic resins and the like. 3. A composite armor as in claim 1 wherein at least some of the inserts have an intermediate portion having a rounded shape, and a pair of opposite ends of a convex shape respectively located proximate to the pair of oppositely facing sides of the cellular structure. 4. A composite armor as in claim 1 further including a filler that is received within the openings of the cellular structure, the inserts being embedded within the filler. 5. A composite armor as in claim 4 wherein the filler is selected from the group consisting of resins, foams and the like. 6. A composite armor as in claim 1 wherein the cellular structure comprises a honeycomb structure. 7. A composite armor as in claim 1 wherein at least some of the inserts comprise a material selected from the group consisting of aluminum oxide, boron carbide, silicon carbide, silicon nitride, a metal, and mixtures thereof. 8. A composite armor as in claim 1 wherein at least one of the pair of sheets comprises a material selected from the group consisting of a metal cover, a plastic, a reinforced composite, and mixtures thereof. 9. A composite armor as in claim 1 wherein the pair of sheets comprise a durability cover attached to an outer face of the cellular structure and an internal sheet attached to an inner face of the cellular structure, the internal sheet comprising one or more primary structural laminates and one or more spall/debris liners. 10. A composite armor as in claim 1 further comprising an adhesive that secures the pair of sheets to the oppositely facing sides of the honeycomb core. 11. A composite armor comprising:a cellular structure having hexagonal openings and oppositely facing sides between which the openings extend;a plurality of ceramic inserts that are bounded by convex surfaces and are respectively received by the hexagonal openings, at least some of the inserts having an intermediate portion, and having a pair of opposite convex ends of rounded shapes respectively located adjacent the pair of oppositely facing sides of the cellular structure; anda pair of non-metallic sheets respectively secured to the oppositely facing sides of the cellular structure to close the openings thereof. 12. A composite armor comprising:a cellular structure having hexagonal openings and oppositely facing sides between which the openings extend;a plurality of ceramic inserts that are bounded by convex surfaces and are respectively received by the hexagonal openings, at least some of the inserts having an intermediate portion of a cylindrical shape, and each insert having a pair of opposite convex ends of rounded shapes respectively located adjacent the pair of oppositely facing sides of the cellular structure;a filler received within the openings of the honeycomb core with the ceramic inserts embedded within the filler; anda pair of non-metallic sheets respectively secured to the oppositely facing sides of the cellular structure to close the openings thereof in which the inserts are received and embedded within the filler to provide reinforcement. 13. A composite armor comprising:a cellular stru cture that is made of a material selected from the group consisting of stainless steel, aluminum, an aramid fiber, and phenolic resins and that has hexagonal openings and oppositely facing sides between which the openings extend;a plurality of inserts that are bounded by convex surfaces and are respectively received by the hexagonal openings, at least some of the inserts comprising a material selected from the group consisting of aluminum oxide, silicon carbide, silicon nitrite, boron carbide, and mixtures thereof, at least some of the inserts having an intermediate portion of a cylindrical shape, and having a pair of opposite convex ends of rounded shapes respectively located adjacent the pair of oppositely facing sides of the cellular structure;a filler selected from the group consisting of resins and foams and being received within the openings of the honeycomb core with the ceramic inserts embedded within the filler; anda pair of non-metallic sheets respectively bonded to the oppositely facing sides of the cellular structure to close the openings thereof in which the inserts are received and embedded within the filler to provide reinforcement. 14. A method for making composite armor as claimed in claim 1, comprising the steps of:providing a fiber preform as an internal structural laminate/spall liner that is placed into a one-sided tool;applying a cellular structure to the preform;filling the cellular structure at least partially with an insert material;applying one or more layers of fabric as an external durability cover, thereby forming a structural composite armor atop the cellular structure; andinfusing the assembly with a structural resin, thereby simultaneously infusing the durability cover, cellular structure, and structural laminate/debris space liner. 15. A method for making a composite armor as claimed in claim 1, comprising steps of:providing a honeycomb care having polygonal openings;adhering a rear sheet to cover the polygonal openings that are located on one side of the honeycomb core;at least partially filling at least some of the openings with a resin;placing one or more inserts within at least some of the openings; andadhering a front sheet to the oppositely facing side of the honeycomb core. 16. A method for making a composite armor as claimed in claim 1, comprising the steps of:providing a layer of fabric as an external durability cover that is placed into a one-sided tool;applying a cellular structure to the layer of fabric;filling the cellular structure at least partially with an insert material;applying one or more fiber preforms as an internal structural laminate/spall liner atop the cellular structure; andinfusing the assembly with a structural resin, thereby simultaneously infusing the durability cover, cellular structure, and structural laminate/debris spall liner.