Blast and ballistic protection systems and method of making the same

• US 7,913,611 B2
• Filed: 09/03/2003
• Issued: 03/29/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 09/03/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: University of Virginia Patent Foundation (University of Virginia)
• Original Assignee: University of Virginia Patent Foundation (University of Virginia)
• Inventors: Wadley, Haydn N. G., Terry, Matthew M.
• Primary Examiner(s): JOHNSON, STEPHEN
• Application Number:
  US10/526,416
• Publication Number:
  US 20060048640A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,764 Days
• Field of Search: 89/360.2, 114/241, 114/240.C, 114/240.E
• US Class Current: 89/36.02
• CPC Class Codes: F41H 5/0414 Layered armour containing ceramic material
• CPC Class Codes: F41H 5/0428 Ceramic layers in combination with additional layers made of fibres, fabrics or plastics
• CPC Class Codes: F41H 5/0471 Layered armour containing fibre- or fabric-reinforced layers in combination with ceramic layers F41H5/0428, with metal layers F41H5/0457

Abstract

An embodiment provides a protection structure comprising: open cell core structure; a top face sheet coupled to said core structure; a bottom face sheet coupled to said core structure distal from said top face sheet; a projectile arresting layer coupled to said top face sheet distal from said core structure; and a fragment catching layer couple to said bottom face sheet distal from said core.

Claims

1. A protection structure comprising:

open cell core structure;

a top face sheet coupled to said core structure;

a bottom face sheet coupled to said core structure distal from said top face sheet;

a projectile arresting structure disposed inside said core structure; and

a fragment catching layer coupled to said bottom face sheet distal from said core.

7. The structure of any one of claims 1-6, wherein said core comprises:

at least one truss layer comprised of at least one truss unit.

8. The structure of claim 7, wherein said at least one truss unit has a geometrical shape of at least one of:

tetrahedral, pyramidal, Kagome, bilayer, trilayer, cone, frustum, or combinations thereof.

9. The structure of claim 7, wherein said at least one truss unit has leg members.

10. The structure of claim 9, wherein at least one of said leg members is hollow or solid or combination thereof.

11. The structure of any one of claims 1-6, wherein said core comprises:

at least one textile layer, said textile layer comprised of at least one array of intersecting structural support members forming apertures of predetermined geometric configurations.

12. The structure of claim 11, wherein said structural support members are at least one of tubular filaments or wire filaments, or combination thereof.

13. The structure of claim 11, wherein said structural support members are made from at least one of woven material, woven mesh, square woven mesh, rectangular woven mesh, multisided woven mesh, knitted mesh, braided mesh, triaxial mesh, biaxial mesh, or quasi-triaxial mesh, or combination thereof.

14. The structure of any one of claims 1-6, wherein said core comprises:

at least one open cell foam comprised of at least one of hollow ligaments or solid ligaments or combination thereof.

17. The structure of any one of claims 1 or 4 wherein said fragment catching layer comprises at least one of fabric, Kevlar fabric, Spectra fabric, S2 glass fabric, and/or Zylon fabric, tape, Kevlar tape, Spectra tape, S2 glass tape, and/or Zylon tape.

18. The structure of any one of claims 1 or 4, wherein said fragment catching layer comprises at least one of fabric, Kevlar fabric, Spectra fabric, S2 glass fabric, and/or Zylon fabric, wherein any of said fabrics are infiltrated with a hardening resin.

19. The structure of any one of claims 1 or 4 wherein said fragment catching layer comprises Kevlar, partial composites of Kevlar, Spectra, partial composites of Spectra, S2 glass, partial composites of S2 glass, Zylon, and/or partial composites of Zylon or combination thereof.

20. The structure of any one of claims 1, 3, 5, or 6 wherein said projectile arresting structure is selected from the group consisting of tape, ceramic tape, coating, fiber reinforced, particular reinforced, ceramic coating, powder, ceramic powder, partial composite of ceramic powder, ceramic fabric, and partial composite of ceramic fabric.

21. The structure of any one of claims 1, 3, 5, or 6 wherein said projectile arresting structure is at least one material selected from the group consisting of ceramic and partial composites of ceramic and combination thereof.

2. A protection structure comprising:

open cell core structure;

a top face sheet coupled to said core structure;

a bottom face sheet coupled to said core structure distal from said top face sheet;

a projectile arresting layer coupled to said top face sheet distal from said core structure; and

a fragment catching structure disposed inside said core.

3. The protection structure of claim 2, further comprising:

a projectile arresting structure disposed in said core structure.

15. The structure of any one of claims 2 or 4 wherein said projectile arresting layer comprises at least one of tiles, ceramic tiles, applied layers, fiber reinforced, particular reinforced, rods, spheres, chemically hardening slurries, cubes and/or other geometric shapes self contained.

16. The structure of any one of claims 2 or 4 wherein said projectile arresting layer comprises ceramic or partial composites of ceramic or combination thereof.

22. The structure of any one of claims 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6 wherein said fragment catching structure is selected from the group consisting of fabric, KEVLAR fabric, tape, KEVLAR tape, coating, KEVLAR coating, powder, KEVLAR powder, fabric, KEVLAR fabric, SPECTRA fabric, S2 glass fabric, ZYLON fabric, and combinations thereof.

23. The structure of any one of claims 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6 wherein said fragment catching structure is selected from the group consisting of fabric, KEVLAR fabric, tape, and KEVLAR tape, wherein any of said fabrics and/or tape are infiltrated with a hardening resin.

24. The structure of any one of claims 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6 wherein at least one of said fragment catching structure is selected from the group consisting of Kevlar or partial composites of Kevlar, Spectra, partial composites of Spectra, S2 glass, partial composites of S2 glass, Zylon, partial composites of Zylon, and combinations thereof.

4. A protection structure comprising:

open cell core structure;

a top face sheet coupled to said core structure;

a bottom face sheet coupled to said core structure distal from said top face sheet;

a projectile arresting layer coupled to said top face sheet distal from said core structure; and

a fragment catching structure disposed inside said core and a fragment catching layer coupled to said bottom face sheet distal from said core.

5. The protection structure of claim 4 further comprising:

a projectile arresting structure disposed inside said core structure.

6. A protection structure comprising:

open cell core structure;

a top face sheet coupled to said core structure;

a bottom face sheet coupled to said core structure distal from said top face sheet;

a projectile arresting structure disposed inside said core structure; and

a fragment catching structure disposed inside said core.

25. The protection structure of claim 6, further comprising:

a projectile arresting layer coupled to said top face sheet distal from said core structure.

26. The protection structure of claim 25, further comprising:

a fragment catching layer coupled to said bottom face sheet distal from said core.

27. The protection structure of claim 6, further comprising:

a fragment catching layer coupled to said bottom face sheet distal from said core.

28. A method of making a protection structure comprising:

providing an open cell core structure;

coupling a top face sheet to said core structure;

coupling a bottom face sheet to said core structure distal from said top face sheet;

disposing a projectile arresting structure inside said core structure; and

coupling a fragment catching layer to said bottom face sheet distal from said core.

29. A method of making a protection structure comprising:

providing an open cell core structure;

coupling a top face sheet to said core structure;

coupling a bottom face sheet to said core structure distal from said top face sheet;

coupling a projectile arresting layer to said top face sheet distal from said core structure; and

disposing a fragment catching structure inside said core.

30. The method of claim 29, further comprising:

disposing a projectile arresting structure in said core structure.

31. A method of making a protection structure comprising:

providing an open cell core structure;

coupling a top face sheet to said core structure;

coupling a bottom face sheet to said core structure distal from said top face sheet;

coupling a projectile arresting layer to said top face sheet distal from said core structure; and

disposing a fragment catching structure inside said core and a fragment catching layer coupled to said bottom face sheet distal from said core.

32. The method of claim 31 further comprising:

disposing a projectile arresting structure inside said core structure.

33. A method of making a protection structure comprising:

providing an open cell core structure;

coupling a top face sheet to said core structure;

coupling a bottom face sheet to said core structure distal from said top face sheet;

disposing a projectile arresting structure inside said core structure; and

disposing a fragment catching structure inside said core structure.

34. The method of claim 33, further comprising:

coupling a projectile arresting layer to said top face sheet distal from said core structure.

35. The method of claim 34, further comprising:

coupling a fragment catching layer to said bottom face sheet distal from said core structure.

36. The method of claim 33, further comprising:

coupling a fragment catching layer to said bottom face sheet distal from said core structure.