DE7801915U1 - Steel armour against projectiles, splinters, missiles or the like, primarily for tanks or armoured vehicles - Google Patents

Description

■ I I ■ · ■

Patent Attorney Rudi Beyer Gneisenoustraße 1 D-4030 Ratingen 6 (Pants!)

The armor steel sheets currently in use represent a compromise between favorable protection against fire on the one hand and, using austenitic electrodes, sufficient welding on the other hand. However, such weld seams cannot be placed in places that are directly exposed to fire. In fact, considerable disadvantages must be accepted when welding such armor steel sheets. For example, such constructions are relatively expensive because, for example, expensive extruded parts and covers made of armor steel sheets must be provided in order to protect the weld seams. In addition, armor steel sheets can only be welded by specially trained welders and only in compliance with extremely strict safety and testing conditions. All of this has led to the fact that the welding of armor steel sheets - at least in the construction of tanks and armored vehicles - has not yet become as widespread as would be desirable in and of itself - also for the purpose of simplifying the design.

The use of so-called two-layer steel is also known in the manufacture of blowing backfill pipes used in underground mining operations for blowing out washing tailings.

Furthermore, two-layer steel has been used in the production of ploughshares, which have a certain self-sharpening effect.

The innovation is based on the task of improving an armour of the type presupposed in the generic term of protection claim 1 in such a way that its armoured steel wall can be designed without compromise to the highest possible hardness in terms of material.

This object is achieved by the features set out in claim 1.

When using an innovative armor, the armor steel wall of the armored wall section can be designed without compromise for good bullet resistance or the like, without taking into account the suitability for welding, while the softer or tougher steel wall can be designed for optimal welding suitability. In any case, only the soft or good to excellent weldable steel wall is welded. The armor steel wall of the armored wall section, which is made of high-hardness or highly tempered armor steel, can be dimensioned in terms of its thickness according to the respective requirements, which also applies to the softer or easily weldable steel wall of the armored section. Accordingly, the high-hardness or highly tempered armor steel wall is not just a thin, hardened zone as in the "Tiger-Wann;", but consists entirely of high-hardness, highly tempered armor steel sheet.

■ ■ a · ■ · ·

• jj » &igr; r __.·

Patent Attorney Rudi Beyer Gneisenaustrasse 1 D-«i030 Ratingen 6 (Hösel)

&Lgr; IB

As a result, the required thickness dimensions can be maintained with the desired accuracy at any point, even in complicated structures, which also applies to the thickness dimensions of the steel wall, which can be welded without any problems. Since this softer or tougher steel wall of the armored wall section, which has the best weldability, can be welded like normal structural steel or similar, no particularly complicated measures are required to connect armored wall sections to one another using weld seams.

There is also no danger - as is the case when welding extremely hard, highly tempered armor steel sheet - that the weld seams present in a new armor will generate uncontrollable tensions that could lead to the armor tearing - possibly even after months.

The new weldable parts also need Armoured wall parts not treated by complicated measures

A particular advantage is that through the division of the armored wall parts into walls of different

Toughness and hardness achieve an optimum of work absorption capacity

which not only ensures bullet safety, but even more

is of great importance in the case of external explosions (mines or similar).

The new armoring also does not produce cracks like in the "Tiger hull" that could spread from one wall of the armored wall section to the other. Since the extremely hard, highly tempered armored steel wall of the armored wall section is not touched by welds at all, no residual welding stresses can arise in this armored steel wall made of armored steel sheet. By applying the new technology, designs, for example for turrets and hulls of tanks, can be significantly simplified. By favorably arranging the successive individual layers of the armored wall sections, i.e. the armored steel walls and the steel walls of an armored wall section, it is easily possible to provide the welds in areas where welds were previously not allowed for safety reasons, for example in places that are directly exposed to fire.

While the "Tiger hull" only had a thin, uncontrolled, hardened zone, of which it was not even certain whether it was actually present everywhere, the thickness of the extremely hard armored steel wall can be precisely maintained and predetermined in all points of the construction with the new design.

Patent Attorney Rudi Beyer Gneisenaustrasse 1 D-<iO3O Ratingen 6 (Hösel)

Ferritic welding is also not necessary. Instead, an austenitic welding process can be used.

In addition, the innovation makes it possible to design the cross-section of fillet welds to be particularly large.

A particular advantage is that the new armor can also be made bulletproof against hard core ammunition. Another advantage that should not be underestimated is the fact that, due to the extreme hardness of the outer armor steel wall, the overall thickness of the construction can either be reduced, which means a correspondingly lower weight with the same bulletproof resistance compared to conventional armor, or the bulletproof resistance can be significantly increased with the same thickness of the overall construction.

Due to the advantages mentioned above, equipment, such as holding elements, can also be easily connected using welds arranged on the softer armored steel wall.

While previously there was a fear that cracks, which can occur even months later during welding, for example, could spread through the entire armor wall, this danger no longer exists when using the new technology, because any cracks caused by stress in the softer, tougher armor steel wall cannot affect the extremely hard wall of the armor. This means that no residual welding stresses arise on the extremely hard armor steel wall, so that uncontrollable stresses cannot arise here that could lead to the armor tearing - possibly even months later.

The term "armored vehicles" refers not only to battle tanks and armored personnel carriers, but also to armored vehicles, such as those used by the Federal Border Guard, the police, etc.

In the design according to claim 2, the armored wall part is edged with steel strips that are easy to weld. This not only makes it easier to connect armored wall parts to one another, but also makes it possible to weld parts to the outer wall.

According to claim 3, an armored wall part consisting of several layers in rolled or pressed form is used as a grating profile for a welded radiator grating. Accordingly, a higher ballistic protection against weight impacts can also be achieved at these points on armored vehicles.

I · t

Patent Attorney Rudi Beyer Gneisenaustrasse 1 D-4030 Ratingen 6 (Hösel)

The armor proposed in the innovation can also be formed into a spherical cap or a cap curved in another way, e.g. by pressing. Such armor can be used as a protective helmet, for example.

According to claim 5, the armor can also be used as known bulkhead armor. In this case, two or more armor wall parts arranged one behind the other at a distance can be used as armor. Suitable support structures or fillers that offer protection against certain projectiles can be arranged between these armor wall parts. For example, it is possible to fill the gaps completely or partially with a suitable plastic, a granulate that offers protection against certain types of projectiles.

Claim 6 is a particularly advantageous embodiment in which armored wall parts are arranged at an acute angle to the wall of the object to be protected or a wall of a bulkhead armor. As a result, a gradual or continuous reduction in projectile energy is achieved, so that penetration of the wall of the object to be protected or of an armored wall part arranged here and designed in accordance with the innovation is impossible. The armored wall parts arranged at an angle can be easily connected by weld seams to the armored wall parts, which are also made of multi-layer steel, whereby the weld seams ensure a particularly good flow of force lines - even when subjected to direct projectile impact.

Claim 7 describes a further advantageous embodiment of the innovation. It can be assumed that the armored wall parts used according to the innovation are practically made of one piece material, despite different layers of different strengths and/or hardnesses and/or weldability.

Advantageous embodiments are described in claims 9 to 11.

Claim 12 describes a further advantageous embodiment of the innovation. This allows the plates to be welded from the outside in the corner joints. The outer thin "softer" steel wall also serves to improve the behavior of the inner high-hardness or highly tempered armor steel wall when hit by bullets.

Claim 13 describes an advantageous embodiment of the innovation.

Patent Attorney Rudi Beyer Gneisenaustrasse 1 D-<«030 Ratingen 6 (Hösel)

-VS=GEHBM-

If additional armor is selected according to claim 14, it can be either screwed on or welded on. This allows vehicles to be adapted to a certain extent.

The drawing shows the innovation using several examples - some of them schematically. They show:

Fig. 1 a cross-section of an armour made of two layers of steel;

Fig. 2 various angle connections by means of welds, equal to 4 if in cross section;

Fig. 5 an armour with three steel layers, where the extremely hard, highly tempered armour steel wall is arranged between two easily weldable steel walls;

Fig. 6 three different angle connections with welds, up to 8 also in cross section, and z'jar using three-layer steel;

Fig. 9 an armour, roughly corresponding to the armour shown in Fig. 1, with the edges edged with easily weldable steel strips, in cross section;

Fig. 10 the connection of several armor wall parts according to Fig. 9 by several welds with a part welded to the outside of the armor;

Fig. 11 Armoured wall parts corresponding to Fig. 9, wherein the armoured wall parts are arranged at an angle to each other and are connected to each other by weld seams;

Fig. 12 an armour made of two layers of steel with a connecting weld, in cross section;

Fig. 13 a cross-section of an armored wall section, specifically for highly stressed welded constructions, with easily weldable steel walls arranged inside and outside;

Fig. 14: Armoured wall parts designed as multi-layer panels, which up to 16 are directed at different angles to each other and connected to each other by welds;

Patent Attorney Rudi Beyer GneisenaustraBe 1 D-4030 Ratingen 6 (Hasel)

[M

- 10 -

Fig.
and

17
18

an armored, welded radiator grille;

Fig. 19

Fig. 20 Fig. 21 i Fig. 22 Fig. 23 Fig. 24 I! Fig. 25 At £ velvet

a curved armour, such as a protective helmet, in plan view;

a cross-section along the line A-B of Fig. 19;

a cross-section of a bulkhead armour, with parts of the armoured wall arranged as guide surfaces;

a light armoured wheeled vehicle in side view a cross-section along the line C-D of Fig. 22;

an additional armour which is arranged in the area of the hull and the bow of an armoured vehicle, partly in cross-section, while

shows a similar, subsequently arranged additional armour according to the innovation, which is welded in the area of the turret housing front part of an armoured vehicle.

In all embodiments shown in the drawing, the reference number 1 designates a very hard or highly tempered armor steel wall (armor steel sheet) which is designed without compromise only for bullet resistance, i.e. is generally made of an extremely hard steel, such as is particularly suitable for tanks.

In contrast, the softer, tougher, excellently weldable steel wall is designated with the reference number 2 in all embodiments in the drawing.

In the embodiment shown in Fig. 1, an armored wall part is made of two-layer steel, which has a very hard or highly tempered armored steel wall 1 and an excellently weldable, soft, tough steel wall 2.

The embodiments according to Figures 2 to 4 are also made of two-layer steel, with armored wall parts arranged at an angle to each other and each connected to one another by a weld seam 3. As can be seen, the weld seam 3 only connects the excellently weldable steel walls 2.

US

Patent Attorney Rudi Beyer GneisenaustroBe 1 D-4030 Ratingen 6 (Hosel)

EIM

- ll -

The reference number 4 designates

rra. /

continuous putty seam.

In the embodiments according to Figures 1 to 4, the extremely hard armor steel wall 1 is just as thick as the excellently weldable steel wall 2.

In the embodiment according to Figures 5 to 8, a three-layer steel is used, whereby the extremely hard or highly tempered armor steel wall 1 is embedded between two excellently weldable, soft or tough steel walls 2. In the embodiments according to Figures 5 to 8, the excellently weldable steel walls 2 are considerably thinner than the extremely hard, high-alloy armor steel wall 1. In these designs, the armor steel walls can also be welded externally in the corner joints. The outer, thinner, "soft" steel wall 2 also serves to improve the behavior of the inner, extremely hard armor steel wall when hit by projectiles.

Figures 6 to 8 show various arrangements of armored wall parts, which in these embodiments are connected to one another by weld seams 5 and 6.

As far as the embodiments shown in Figures 9 to 11 are concerned, these also show armoring using armor wall parts made of two-layer steel, which are edged at the edges with tough or soft, easy-to-weld steel strips: 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11 respectively. The reference numerals 12 to 20 designate weld seams by which these steel strips are connected to the excellently weldable steel wall 2 of each armor wall part. Such steel strips 7 to 11 not only make it easy to connect armor wall dividers to one another, but also make it possible to weld parts to the outer wall, as is schematically indicated in Figure 10 at 21, which is intended to represent such a welded part on the outer wall. The reference numerals 22 and 23 designate weld seams.

Fig. 12 shows an embodiment similar to that shown in Fig. 1, wherein two armored parts are connected to one another by a weld seam 24 provided on the inside.

In contrast, Figures 13 to 16 illustrate armor made of armor wall parts, which are designed as multi-layer plates for highly stressable welded constructions and extremely high ballistic protection, in which an excellently weldable "soft" steel wall is present inside and outside as a welded composite zone and inside, separated by an additional "soft" steel wall, two extremely hard

Patent Attorney Rudi Beyer Gneisenaustrße 1 D-4030 Ratingen 6 (Hösel)

- 12 -

Armoured steel walls are embedded. As can be seen from Figures 13 to 16, the individual walls are of different thicknesses, namely the first two relatively soft steel walls 2, viewed from the outside to the inside, are thinner than the armoured steel walls 1 made of extremely hard or highly tempered armoured steel, while the steel wall 2 on the inside, which is extremely easy to weld, is thicker than the other two steel walls 2 and can be the same or thinner than the internal extremely hard armoured steel wall 1. The reference numerals 24 and 25 again designate weld seams by which the armoured wall parts are connected to one another.

Figures 17 and 18 show an armored wall part in the form of a multi-layer plate in rolled or pressed form as a grating profile for a welded radiator grating. For example, two weld seams are designated with the reference numerals 26 and 27. The extremely hard or highly tempered armored steel wall 1 is considerably thicker than the two softer or tougher steel walls 2 embedding it.

The armored wall part, which can be seen in Figures 19 and 20, is formed into a spherical cap-shaped structure. In this form, the armored wall part can be used as a protective helmet, for example. The reference number 27 designates a border strip made of easily weldable steel, while 28 is again a weld seam.

Fig. 21 shows a bulkhead armor. X is the direction of fire. As can be seen, two or more armor wall elements are

29 and 30 are arranged at a distance and approximately parallel to each other. In the space between the two armored wall parts 29 and

30 has a number of guide surfaces which are firmly connected to the excellently weldable steel walls 2 of the armored wall parts 29 and 30 by weld seams 32 and 33. As with all other embodiments shown in the drawing, these weld seams 32 and 33 are uninterrupted over the entire length or width of the parts to be connected, i.e. they are continuous. The guide surfaces 31 are arranged at an acute angle bO , so that a projectile flying in the direction X experiences an energy dissipation because it hits the object to be protected, for example the wall of a tank to be protected, at a very flat angle of impact or does not reach it at all. The extremely hard, highly tempered armored steel wall 1 is considerably thicker than the easily weldable steel wall 2, which applies in particular to the guide surfaces 31.

Patent Attorney Rudi Beyer Gneisenaustrasse 1

&eegr; 6 (Hösel)

- 13 -

Light armoured wheeled vehicles always have weight problems, as good ballistic protection is required in addition to high payloads. The innovation is particularly useful for such armoured vehicles or armoured aircraft. Fig. 23 shows weld seams 34, 35, 36, 37, 38 and 39 in the cross section through the hull of the light wheeled vehicle shown in Fig. 22, which are arranged in such a way that the excellently weldable steel walls 2 of the various armoured wall parts are always connected to one another or to profile pieces 40 and 41, which are equally easy to weld. The reference symbols 42 to 47 again indicate putty seams. In Fig. 23, the welded joints of the light armoured wheeled vehicle shown in Fig. 22 can be seen in the area of the roof sheet to the upper side walls and further over the above-mentioned profile bars or profile pieces to the lower side walls.

In the embodiment according to Fig. 24, each armored wall part is designed as an exchangeable unit. In the embodiment shown, two armored wall parts 48 and 49 are arranged on a hull bow section, each made of three-layer steel, namely an excellently weldable steel wall 2 made of soft, tough steel is arranged inside and outside, with these two steel walls 2 enclosing a very hard or highly tempered armored steel wall 1 between them. The two armored wall parts 48 and 49 are connected to the hull bow section via angle irons 50, 51 and 52 by screws or welds. For example, the angle irons 50 to 52 can be connected to the steel walls by welds and can be replaced as a whole.

In the turret housing front section shown in Fig. 25, the armored wall parts 53 and 54 are also welded or screwed on. In this embodiment, too, the armored wall parts are made of Dreiiayen steel, with the extremely hard armored steel wall being arranged between two easily weldable steel walls 2.

If the application documents refer to armored wall parts, this is understood to mean a wall part made of multi-layer steel that can be transported before installation, i.e. consisting of at least one extremely hard or highly tempered armored steel wall and an associated, easily weldable steel wall.

In the embodiment according to Figures 22 and 23, the armored wall parts can also be connected to one another on the outside, for example under the adhesive seams 43 and 44 or 46 and 47, by means of welds. This results in even greater stability of the vehicle. These welds have been omitted for the sake of simplicity.

-&mdash;&mdash; ■ ■ J ₁ - &mdash;fg - -f )-»&mdash;» ■ 1 1 * &mdash; ■■ &mdash;

Patent Attorney Rudi Beyer Gneisenaustrasse 1 D-i»030 Ratingen 6 (Hösel)

The features described in the description and in the claims and shown in the drawing can be essential for the realization of the spatial form concept of the innovation, both individually and in any combination.

V «. ¹ I

Claims (1)

Patent Attorney Rudi Beyer GneisenaustxaBe 1 D-4030 Ratingen 6 (Hösel) US Armour made of layered steel with at least one hard layer and at least one soft layer of steel tahlaand The innovation concerns an armour made of multi-layer steel with at least one hard armour steel wall and at least one tough, soft steel wall, with one of the hard armour steel walls being arranged on the outside, facing the gunfire. During the Second World War, for example, surface-hardened sheets were used for the "Tiger hull" which had strengths of around 1800 kp/mm2 on the hardened side, while they were softer on the back and could be welded with ferritic electrodes. This arrangement was chosen at the time because austenitic electrodes were practically not available for the manufacture of tank hulls. These surface-hardened armor steel sheets had only a very thin, hard layer of martensitic character on one side, while on the other side there was a thick pearlitic, ferritic zone that could only be welded with great difficulty and after preheating with normal ferritic electrodes. This arrangement initially had the disadvantage that the hardened layer was very thin and did not allow a consistent thickness at all points of the armor. Furthermore, the softer zone had to consist of a low-alloy, high-strength steel, so that its weldability was in reality only low. Cracks that developed in the hard, very brittle, thin layer could propagate into the softer area. Finally, the surface hardening required to create the hardened thin layer was a very complex process that could not be achieved without compromising the structure. This process has therefore not been further developed as it no longer meets today's requirements for the manufacture of armour. &igr; - t t Patent Attorney Rudi Beyer Gneisenaustrasse 1 D-«»030 Ratingen 6 (Hösel) 598/10 VS-G 7 9 / VS- 6eh. / T October 3, 1979 I Protection claims 1. Armour made of multi-layer steel with at least one hard armour steel layer and at least one tough, soft steel wall, one of the hard armour steel walls being arranged on the outside, facing the gunfire, characterized in that the extremely hard or highly tempered armour steel wall (1) has a strength of approximately 2500 to 3800 N/mm^ and the easily weldable steel wall has a strength of approximately 500 to 700 N mm^ and the armour wall parts (e.g. 29, 30) are only connected to one another by weld seams (e.g. 3) on the steel wall (2), the thickness of the extremely hard or highly tempered armour steel wall (1) being approximately one third to three times thicker than the softer or tougher, easily weldable steel wall (2). 2. Armour according to claim 1, characterized that the edges of an armored wall section are framed with soft or tough, easily weldable steel strips (e.g. 7 or 8) and that these steel strips (7, 8) are connected to the steel wall (2) by weld seams (e.g. 13 or 14). 3. Armour according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that several armoured wall parts are arranged at a distance one behind the other as a radiator grille of an armoured vehicle by welded seams. 4. Armour according to claim 1 or one of the following, characterized in that the armoured wall part is formed as a pressed part into a curved cap, e.g. a protective helmet, the edges of which are bordered by a welded profile strip. &bull; I » t · · I · II Patent Attorney Rudi Beyer Gneisenaustrasse 1 D-4030 Ratingen (, (Hösel) --u-i .1 Q t \i 5. Armour according to claim 1 or one of the following, characterized in that the armour parts are arranged to form a bulkhead-like construction and are connected by welds. 6. Armour according to claim 5, characterized that at least two armored wall parts (29 or 30) are arranged at a distance from one another and that between these armored wall parts (29, 30) two or more guide surfaces (e.g. 31) are arranged, which run obliquely to the surfaces of the armored wall parts (29 or 30) and are also designed as armored wall parts and are connected to the armored wall parts (29 or 30) by weld seams (e.g. 32 or 33). 7. Armour according to claim 1 or one of the following, characterized in that the armour wall parts are designed as integral components (e.g. 48 or 49). 8. Armour according to claim 7, characterized in that the component (48 or 49) is arranged as additional armour or the like - optionally removable - on vehicles, e.g. connected by welds. Armour according to claim 1 or one of the following, characterized in that the high-hardness or highly tempered armour steel wall has the following composition in weight percent: C 0.35, Si 0.30, Mn 1.00, P max 0.020, S max 0.020, Cr 1.60, Ni 1.60, Mo 0.40, V 0.15. 10. Armouring according to claim 1 or one of the following, characterized in that the softer, tougher and easily weldable steel wall (2) has the following composition in percent by weight: C max 0.15, Si 0.30, Mn 1.50, P max 0.025, S max 0.025, Ni 0.6, with the addition of Al. 11. Armour according to claim 1 or one of the following, characterized in that an inner, softer and tough steel wall has the following composition in weight percent: C max 0.12, Si 0.25, Mn 0.8, P max 0.030 and S max 0.030. Patent Attorney Rudi Beyer Gncisenoustraße 1 D-4030 Ratingen 6 (Hösel) 12. Armour according to claim 1 or one of the following, characterized in that the high-hardness or highly tempered armour steel wall (1) is embedded between two easily weldable steel walls (2) without any gap. 13. Armour according to claim 1 or one of the following, (characterised in that the armoured wall part is delimited on the outside and inside by a relatively soft or tough, easily weldable steel wall (2), while in between easily weldable steel walls (2) and high-hardness or highly tempered armoured steel walls (1) follow one another in alternating sequence without any gaps. 14. Armour according to claim 13, characterized in that the component (48 or 49) is designed as additional armour or similar - removable if necessary - arranged on vehicles, e.g. connected by welds. 3> "I I 111 US