Photo credit: Afsaneh Rabiei
Composite metal foam (CMF) may not look too different from its solid counterpart, but a small brick can stop ball and armor-piercing .50 caliber rounds as well as conventional steel armor, despite weighing less than half as much.
What does this mean? Automotive designers will be able to develop lighter military vehicles without sacrificing safety, or can use CMF to improve protection without making vehicles heavier. This foam consists of hollow, metallic spheres that are made of materials such as stainless steel or titanium, embedded in a metallic matrix fabricated from steel, titanium, aluminum or other metallic alloys.
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The CMF armor was less than half the weight of the rolled homogeneous steel armor needed to achieve the same level of protection. In other words, we were able to achieve significant weight savings – which benefits vehicle performance and fuel efficiency – without sacrificing protection,” said Afsaneh Rabiei, corresponding author of a paper.
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