3D Printable Metal Foams as Ballistic Protection Plates in Heavy Armou

Abstract

Ballistic protection is an important factor in armoured vehicles to protect the vehicle from various threats. But it makes the vehicle structure heavier concerning the level of protection needed. This overall weight results in requiring more fuel and making it hard to manoeuvre on the battlefield. This diploma thesis focuses on the numerical evaluation of ballistic properties such as energy absorption & penetration of 3D-printable open-cell lattice foams to check the feasibility of their real-time application in armour protection. Three different unit cell lattices are selected- FCC, Kelvin Cell & Isotruss. These open-cell lattice foams are modelled in nTopology software by utilisation of identical input parameters. The high-velocity impact simulation is carried out in Ansys Workbench 2022 R2 for each lattice foam and compared with the results of solid plate. The simulation shows that among the selected lattice foams, Isotruss lattice foam shows better absorption of 99.3 % of the projectile's kinetic energy without perforation. Also, the CAD weight of Isotruss foam is 47.45% lower compared to the solid plate. This shows the potential of utilisation of lattice foams as ballistic protection in replacement of conventional solid metallic armour.