Armor from the present and future

12
Since 2005, Red Star has repeatedly told about unique personal protective equipment created by specialists of the Arkomok High Strength Materials Center of the Central Research Institute of Special Engineering: helmets and body armor made of discrete-fabric and organic-ceramic armor accepted for procurement by the Ministry of Defense and the FSB Russia, on anti-cutting and camouflage suits (the latter has optical-visual and radar protection) ... Scientists and designers of this research and production team succeed in retaining to gain a leading position in their field of activity due to the creation of special materials with amazing protective properties.

Will the Armocom Center start using nanotechnologies, which today, as they say, are widely known in the manufacture of personal protective equipment? Is it even possible to effectively use them in this area? These and other questions of the Krasnaya Zvezda correspondent are answered by the general director of the Arkomok Center for High-Strength Materials, the winner of the USSR State Prize and the RF Government Prize, Professor Evgeny KHARCHENKO.

- Yevgeny Fyodorovich, for a start, help determine the concepts. What are nanomaterials and nanotechnologies that have been talked about so much lately?

- By nano-substances usually imply small particles, the size of which is smaller than 0,1 micron (micron is 0,001 millimeter), that is, does not exceed 100 nanometers. In the simplest representation, it is a finely ground powder. For example, many paints are nano-substances, since the pigments in them are crushed to very small sizes. However, the most common nanoparticles that are specifically grown in a gaseous environment are carbon nanotubes. They got this name because these small particles are several times longer than the diameter. Although in shape they can be fibers.

The world's carbon nanotubes are widely used, there is enough information about this ...

- Have you tried to use non-substances for the manufacture of personal protective equipment?

- The basis of all body armor equipment is aramid fiber. Its diameter is about 12 microns, which is 1 / 6 of the diameter of a human hair. Due to the small diameter and special structure of its molecules, it has a very high strength and lightness. Today, conventional aramid fiber with a 1 section of mm2 is able to withstand 500 kg load.

- Do you mean longitudinal stress?

- Yes. In the transverse direction, this fiber does not hold the tensile load as well as in the longitudinal direction, and if it is tied in a knot, the strength will be reduced by half. Nevertheless, it will hold a quarter of a ton, which, you see, is also a lot.

Threads are made of these fibers, fabrics are made of threads, helmets and body armor are formed from fabrics.

- Is this just Russian technology or do personal protective equipment in the same way abroad?

- Not all countries have this technology. But where there is this technology, it is not much different from ours. True, the final product is different in its characteristics everywhere ...

- Can this product be improved through the use of nanomaterials?

- In Mytishchi, at the “Heat-resistant Textile Research and Production Enterprise”, which is headed by Igor Vladimirovich Tikhonov and which produces aramid fibers, several years ago we tried to connect carbon nanotubes with aramid fibers. Fiber is a collection of very small fibrils, or packs of macromolecules. There are no chemical bonds between the fibrils, because all the molecular chains run along the fiber axis, therefore it does not have a large transverse strength. So, at the fiber spinning stage, we tried to introduce nanoparticles into them, assuming that these particles, as if holding the longitudinal fibrils together with bricks, would improve the properties of the fibers, ensuring transverse strength. The bullet hits across the fibers.

- The hypothesis was confirmed?

“As a result, on the samples we obtained an 20-percent increase in strength and about a quarter increase in the elastic modulus, that is, the stiffness that does not allow the fiber to stretch (the ability of the fiber to stretch, but withstand a large load, is called strength. - Auto.) . Thus, we have seen the main point: there are great opportunities in this direction, but it is extremely technologically complex. After all, it is necessary with the utmost clarity to choose the sizes of nano-additives, their very precise concentration, the stage of introduction into the fiber in the process of its formation ...

On this point of view, in practical terms, we suspended the case and put the obtained results in reserve, now clearly presenting the existence of such a method.

- How can the use of aramid fibers reinforced with nanoparticles affect the performance of personal protective equipment?

- The stronger the unit cell of the protective equipment, that is, the fiber (and millions of fibers in a bulletproof vest), the greater the chances of obtaining the best protective properties. Body armor can be made thinner and lighter while maintaining the same class of protection. Or, while maintaining weight and size, increase the level of protection.

“Why did you put aside the results of your research?”

- As I have already said, to create advanced materials on their basis is very difficult technologically. This requires great effort and money. The technology of mass production of nanofibers, whose diameter is hundreds of times smaller than that of aramid polymers, is not yet available. The existing technology, which is used in pilot production, is very expensive.

In general, in applied science it happens that it is expedient (or necessary) to leave some innovative ideas for later. As for fundamental research, our Armokom center is still not the Academy of Sciences.

“Since you and your colleagues have established that nanomaterials are capable of enhancing the protective properties of body armor and helmets, will it be appropriate to postpone the use of these materials to protect the lives of our soldiers and officers?” And if tomorrow is war, if tomorrow is a hike?

- To this day, more than half of the army wears steel helmets of the 1968 model of the year! Everything costs money ... Recently we began to massively supply 6B7-1М helmets from the new materials to the Ministry of Defense. They were created on the instructions of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation when they were led by generals Nikolai Svertilov and the head of the department Boris Ruchkin. We manufacture these helmets from aramid composite materials. If we began to make them using nanosubstances, they would become twice as expensive, although at the same time, perhaps, percent on 20 is easier.

However, for this, you first need to completely refine the technology. So far we have only shown the fundamental possibility of improving the protective properties of aramid armor through the use of nano-substances. Fundamental research is needed in this area.

- It turns out that the locomotive of the domestic production of personal protective equipment - the Arkomok center is now forced to stop?

- No, we do not stand still and continue to improve personal protective equipment for our fighters. We have developed a new helmet for equipping a fighter according to the “Warrior” program and a new protective kit for the crews of combat vehicles. Compared to the 6B7-1M helmet, this helmet is lighter by almost a third, it weighs only 1 kg. It has the same level of protective properties as its predecessor. Reducing the mass of the helmet without loss in the class of protection is very important for the soldier, since night vision equipment, radio communication equipment, etc. should be placed on the helmet.

Preliminary tests of the helmet have been successfully completed, state tests are now underway, and I hope the army will receive it next year as part of the Ratnik outfit.

- As I understand it, you managed to reduce the weight of the helmet without using nanotechnology?

- Yes, we used in this case the possibilities of fiber-composite technology and constructive technologies of our enterprise for the manufacture of products.

- Is it possible that you postpone the topic of nanotechnology in individual means of protection for the future, and in other technologically and technologically advanced countries, for example in the USA, they will invest huge amounts of money in this direction, and as a result Russia will not happened in storiesagain have to catch up?

- This is if the Americans do something. And if not? Can you imagine at what level - almost at the molecular (!) - it is necessary to improve the material, which already has a fairly perfect structure. By the way, American Kevlar is still significantly inferior to our “Ruslan”. Fabrics from domestic aramid fibers possess unsurpassed ballistic characteristics, this has been proven experimentally (read more about this in the article “Golden Helmet for the Queen of the Fields”, published in the December 7 Red Star 2011 of the Year. - Auth.). So while our overseas colleagues are in the role of catching up in the production of ballistic aramid fibers. And the use of nanotechnology to enhance them is the next, even more difficult level.

- Evgeny Fedorovich, at the beginning of our conversation you gave an example of the use of nanoparticles in paints ...

- It is obvious that the dyeing of the uniform of a soldier is of great importance on the battlefield. A soldier must always merge with the terrain, so any armored suit must be camouflaged. In particular, a protective kit for the crew of combat vehicles, which we developed and produce for the Armed Forces. Indeed, in the event of a hit tank or IFV crew, if left alive, leaves the car, and it is important for him to immediately merge with the environment.

It is also obvious that this kit should not burn. And to make it incombustible, we used fibers of special fire resistance for the production of the fabric from which the sets are made. But the trouble - these fibers, this fabric did not take the dye. That is, after painting faded under the sun for three to four days (in the photo on the right). But when they began to apply nano-dyes, which penetrate into the structure of the fibers themselves and are fixed there, the coloring became stable and did not burn out in the sun (in the photo on the left). At the same time, the flame retardant properties of the fabric did not decrease.

- What colors can be painted uniform nanokrakraski?

- In different. For example, in white, which allows the fighter to merge with the terrain in winter.

- Are there any other areas of application of nanomaterials in the production of personal protective equipment?

- There is. The most effective armor to date - composite ceramic. It consists of a very solid screen made of ceramic (boron carbide, silicon carbide, aluminum oxide) and a substrate of aramid organoplastic. On the screen, comparable in hardness to diamond, a bullet is shattered (in the picture - what remains of the bullet after it gets into ceramic armor). These broken pieces have enormous kinetic energy, but they are effectively absorbed by the aramid substrate.

The total specific weight of the composite ceramic armor is 2,5 g / cm2. And steel armor of the same class of protection is about 8 g / cm2, that is, more than three times heavier. True, steel has a slightly higher survivability, and the second bullet, hitting almost the same place in a steel bulletproof vest as the first one, may not pierce it. But show me the shooter who, from an assault rifle in a feverish battle at a distance of 100 and more than a meter, will put two bullets or the entire automaton burst into a cigarette pack! In real combat with the use of the now existing mass rifle weapons it is almost impossible. So the advantage of personal protective equipment made of composite-ceramic armor in less weight is undoubted. Agree, there is a difference: wear a chest panel weighing 3,2 kg of steel or 1,7-kilogram of composite ceramics.

- I agree, especially since in battle one of the main conditions for survival and achievement of victory is the maneuverability of forces and means. Protected by heavy armor, but at the same time a barely moving soldier is a convenient target for the enemy.

- And composite ceramic armor, protecting against all handguns, including from armor-piercing incendiary bullets of caliber 7,62 mm, at the same time, due to its lightness, allows to maintain maneuverability. However, there is a small nuance - it is not easy to make this pottery. In order to obtain a uniform and durable ceramic material, it must be very carefully, at the nanoscale level, crushed at the production stage. Then it dries, burns and gains amazing hardness. The smaller the original products of this ceramics - and in a simplified representation this is clay, although it is special, in which several components are mixed, the better protective properties will be provided by its products. And we produce products with such ceramics.
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12 comments
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  1. +9
    21 November 2013 12: 06
    Stop SPEAKING and SHOWING. It is time to PRODUCE and TEST, and if it’s a worthwhile thing, then TAKE IT INTO WEAPONS and urgently SECURE the needs of the Armed Forces.
    1. +1
      21 November 2013 13: 27
      Agree with you
    2. +1
      21 November 2013 13: 50
      Clearly, the article says, give me money :)
      1. AVV
        0
        21 November 2013 15: 56
        Not money, but orders for production, the engine of everything new, and even more so in the sun!
  2. 0
    21 November 2013 12: 06
    God grant good luck to the manufacturers - each such kit in the long run is the saved life of a fighter.
  3. Volodya Sibiryak
    +2
    21 November 2013 12: 07
    It may not be the topic, but when it comes to nano technologies, I immediately represent Medvedev and Rusnano and this does not add optimism.
    1. makarov
      0
      21 November 2013 15: 12
      Rosnano, as far as I remember, a feeding trough for feeding the red beast of Chubais. They drove him with a stick, and beckoned for a dollar, stuck powerfully - see by nanotechnology
  4. sasska
    +1
    21 November 2013 12: 16
    "Expert Online" / Sep 28, 2006 17:26 p.m. http://expert.ru/2006/09/28/brona/

    The financial and industrial venture capital fund of the military-industrial complex, registered in the Sverdlovsk region, began financing a project called "Liquid Armor".

    "Liquid Armor" is a new type of protective coating that, thanks to nanotechnology, turns into impenetrable armor upon impact. Studies have shown that the effect of such protection is achieved through the use of solutions with superhard nanoparticles in a non-volatile liquid. As soon as high-energy mechanical pressure occurs, the nanoparticles gather into clusters, thereby changing the structure of the liquid solution, which turns into a solid composite. This phase transition occurs in less than a millisecond, which makes it possible to create protection against various mechanical influences.

    The new technology was developed by a group of scientists from one of the branch institutes of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. "The scope of application of 'liquid armor' is huge," says Nikolai Viktorov, director of the MIC Foundation (established in the Sverdlovsk region specifically to search for innovative technologies). At the first stage, we intend to invest a million dollars in the project. After testing and obtaining a patent, a legal entity will be created and production will be organized, possibly on the basis of one of the defense enterprises of the Sverdlovsk region. appear on the market in the first half of 2007, and in about two years the fund plans to sell the company and receive a tenfold return on investment. "


    but with this development as of now?
    1. 0
      21 November 2013 13: 29
      Quote: sasska
      but with this development as of now?

      I don’t know with this, but with a similar (high molecular weight polyethylene under high pressure) problems. The higher the speed of the bullet, the better it protects. But at low speeds it easily breaks through. http://www.arms-expo.ru/049051124051049055050051.html
      It’s like starch on water: in the usual state it’s liquid, but you hit it like a stone (school joke)
  5. +1
    21 November 2013 13: 02
    Since 2005, the Red Star has repeatedly talked about unique personal protective equipment,

    Well, where are they in the troops!?!?
  6. makarov
    +3
    21 November 2013 13: 09
    The talking room and all. I know. I am sure. Many readers will not like what I will say next. In the early 80s, all of the above work to improve the protective properties of body armor was carried out in the Kharkov Research Institute at the Academic Town. Both ceramic nanomaterials and composite ones based on titanium were used. A tremendous scientific and practical work was carried out. No real results were obtained.
    The reasons:
    When shooting from AK bullets did not penetrate body armor. But bulletproof vests dressed in pigs showed that from a high-speed dynamic impact with a non-penetrating wound, a temporarily pulsating area formed with damage to internal organs and tissues to a depth similar to a penetrating wound with traumatic damage to internal organs. The severity of non-penetrating wounds led either to the instant death of animals, sometimes death occurred after 2-3 days. Some animals survived.
    I won’t say anything more. Draw your own conclusions.
    1. sasska
      +2
      21 November 2013 14: 17
      from personal: they hung an army armor on a chair and slammed it from a "bitch" (AKS74U) from a meter and a half - the bullet went through the chest and left the shell in the back, and the core went into the wall.
      but, from M16, the sidekick got a bullet from 300 meters - he threw him back and the bruise was huge.
  7. 0
    21 November 2013 14: 20
    Something I realized: which of the models breaks when it hits the same spot again - composite ceramic or steel?
    1. EdwardTich68
      0
      21 November 2013 14: 37
      ceramics break through, steel or titanium is not always.
  8. +1
    21 November 2013 14: 45
    "But show me that shooter who will put two bullets from a machine gun in the heat of battle at a distance of 100 meters or more" ??? just for such purposes - the Nikonov automatic machine ...
  9. +1
    21 November 2013 16: 38
    It’s not enough to make an impenetrable armor. It is also necessary to dissipate the kinetic energy of the impact. Here, just a steel plate is preferable - it works on a large area. (the problem, by the way, is not new. from ancient times, under chain mail, canoes, etc., they wore a sub-armor that extinguished part of the blow)
    In this case, certain advantages are in liquid armor. In theory, it distributes the blow to the entire area.

    By the way, here, for some reason, the topic of ball armor was not raised. For fifteen years they have been procrastinating. They say that the "Ratnik" will include ball armor plates.
  10. 0
    21 November 2013 21: 08
    The main thing is not to stop there and continue to develop.

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