Fe-Mn-Al-C Alloy Steels - A New Armor Class
Abstract
Fe-Mn-Al-C alloy steels are being ballistically characterized by the Tank Automotive Research Development and Engineering Command (TARDEC) and the Army Research Lab (ARL) as a Class V Rolled Homogeneous Armor (RHA) Grade under MIL-A-12560. This paper summarizes the prior body of work regarding ballistic investigation leading up to the current Class V development. Physical and metallurgical characterization with limited ballistic tests has occurred by ARL1,2. Fe-Mn-Al-C alloys were investigated since they possess lower density (6.5 to 7.2 g/cm3) versus standard steel chemistries (7.8 g/cm3)3, tensile strengths from 600 to 2,000 MPa, and elongation to failure as great as 70%. These alloys are near non-magnetic, and they can exhibit high-energy absorption within a chemistry range of Fe-10-30Mn-5-15Al. High strain rate testing has shown that as strength increased with strain rate, ductility exceeded 30% at 1000 s-1, indicating that ballistic evaluation would be favorable, even in a cast form3,4,5. A ballistic test and report was conducted on a Fe-13Mn-10Al-1C wrought alloy in 19792, an extensive investigation into a cast Fe-30Mn-9Al-1Si-0.9C-0.5Mo alloy was conducted between 2006 and 20101, and a wrought form of the Fe-30Mn-9Al-1Si-0.9C-0.5Mo alloy was ballistically tested in 2008 which has not been previously reported.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Nov 15, 2016
- Accession Number
- AD1049112
Entities
People
- Richard J. Gerth
- Ryan A. Howell