Application Of Titanium Alloy in Armored Vehicle
my country began to study bullet-resistant titanium alloy materials and low-cost titanium alloys in the 1970s, but only exploratory sporadic work was carried out in the initial stage. The "Sixth Five-Year Plan" research project "Development and Application of Lightweight Aviation Bulletproof Armor Materials" started in 1984 is the first domestic special research on titanium alloy armor materials. Its application target is the bulletproof board of the cockpit of attack aircraft. The alloy plate can replace the original armor steel, achieving a weight reduction effect of 13%.
During the "Tenth Five-Year Plan", the National 863 Program supported the development of low-cost titanium alloys. The Ti8LC low-cost titanium alloy developed by the Northwest Nonferrous Metals Research Institute under the support of the "High-performance and low-cost titanium alloy research" project can reach the level of TC4 alloy. With a strong plastic matching level, the cost is significantly reduced compared with TC4 alloy.
During the "Eleventh Five-Year Plan" period, the Northwest Nonferrous Metals Research Institute and the 52nd Ordnance Institute jointly undertook the National Military Industry 863 Project "Development of New Type High-strength Armor Titanium Alloys". The low-cost and high-strength titanium alloy Ti-5322 (Ti-5Al-3V-2Cr-2Fe), and its sheet processing is emphatically studied. At present, the protection factor of the alloy sheet can stably reach above 1.8, and the protection factor of some conditions exceeds 2.0, and the comprehensive performance has reached the international advanced level.
In recent years, the Northwest Nonferrous Metals Research Institute and Western Superconducting Materials Technology Co., Ltd. have systematically carried out different types of titanium alloy anti-elastic performance tests, and through composition innovation and preparation process optimization, the anti-elastic performance of materials has been further improved.
See the table below for the elastic resistance test of different types of titanium alloys in accordance with the "Armored Vehicle Test Regulations, Armor Plate Anti-gun Elasticity Test" GJB59.18-1988 standard.
The application bottleneck of titanium alloy on domestic combat vehicles
Judging from the military needs and development trends of domestic combat vehicles, titanium alloy, as the only optional material, can be expected to be widely used in future weapons and equipment. However, compared with steel, the high cost of titanium alloy is the biggest obstacle to its wide application. At present, the biggest problem that restricts the widespread use of titanium alloys in army equipment, especially combat vehicles, is cost. Therefore, all countries are investing a lot of manpower and material resources in the research of low-cost titanium alloy technology. It can be considered that once the low-cost problem of titanium alloy is solved, the key core problem of the large-scale application of titanium alloy in army equipment is solved.
