Is Boron Carbide the Key to Shattering Bullets in Armor Design?

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SUMMARY

Boron carbide is identified as a superior material for armor design due to its hardness compared to copper bullets, leading to bullet shattering upon impact. The discussion highlights the historical use of boron carbide in body armor and raises concerns about its cost-effectiveness for conventional armor applications. While boron carbide has been utilized for decades, its performance may be limited to initial impacts, as subsequent hits can cause material fracture. The potential for laminating boron fiber with other materials like carbon fiber is also explored.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of boron carbide properties and applications
  • Knowledge of armor design principles
  • Familiarity with material science concepts, particularly hardness and impact resistance
  • Experience with composite materials and their fabrication techniques
NEXT STEPS
  • Research the cost-benefit analysis of boron carbide in armor applications
  • Explore advancements in boron carbide composite manufacturing techniques
  • Investigate the performance limitations of boron carbide under multiple impacts
  • Learn about the lamination process of boron fiber with carbon fiber for enhanced armor design
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Material scientists, armor design engineers, military procurement specialists, and anyone involved in the development of advanced protective gear.

chemisthypnos
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Does anyone know how this works? I hypothesize that the reason that the bullet shatters is that boron carbide is much harder than the copper of the bullet. Does anyone think that this may be made into a conventional armor design as some people are saying or is boron carbide too expensive for use in this application?

Link: http://www.slate.com/articles/video...rmor_can_shatter_bullet_on_contact_video.html
 
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chemisthypnos said:
Does anyone know how this works? I hypothesize that the reason that the bullet shatters is that boron carbide is much harder than the copper of the bullet. Does anyone think that this may be made into a conventional armor design as some people are saying or is boron carbide too expensive for use in this application?
The cost of the components could be utterly trivial compared to the cost of the fabrication of the composite. I have no idea if that's the case but my point is that you are not looking at the big picture.
 
Boron carbide body armor has been around for decades. Carborundum made it in their Niagara Falls plant when i visited there in the 1960's.
Back then they blew it into fiber with a steam jet then made it into cloth using secondhand textile manufacturing equipment.

The foam is new to me but it seems a logical progression.

See what these folks have to say ?
http://technical-ceramics.3mdeutschland.de/en/products/3m-ballistic-ceramics.html
 
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Fascinating. I think that I may have found why it may not be used in a number of applications. It seems to be good for only the first hit, but subsequent hits will cause the material to fracture. https://www.arl.army.mil/www/default.cfm?article=3166
 
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I think you can laminate up Boron fibre much the same as Carbon, Aramid or glass fibre.
 
CWatters said:
Boron fibre
You can certainly do this with boron nitride. Boron carbide seems less likely, but you could probably impregnate carbon fiber with boron carbide (whether that would get you the result you want is a different story).