The United States' Next Tank Could Be Protected by 'Steel Foam'
The composite material offers dramatic weight savings and increased protection from shock, fires.
By Kyle Mizokami
Mar 28, 2018
Researchers have discovered that composite metal foam offers greater protection than traditional armor steel plate at a third of the weight. The discovery has broad implications for armored vehicles, and could result in stronger, lighter vehicles better able to protect occupants from the impact of kinetic weapons, explosive shockwaves, and fires.
Scientists at North Carolina State University and the US Army’s Aviation Applied Technology Directorate have invented what they call Composite Metal Foam (CMF). “Metal foam†is exactly what you think it is—metal with sponge-like holes in it. This not only makes CMF lighter than normal metal, but it also makes CMF spongy, allowing it to give slightly under impact, soaking up some of the energy of a collision.
https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/research/a19622400/americas-next-tank-could-be-protected-by-steel-foam/
