Advanced Composites for Ammunition Protection and Crew Survivability

Battlefield vehicles such as the Interim Armored Vehicle (IAV) and Future Combat Systems (FCS) carry high energy, large caliber munitions into combat. The munitions are stowed in a rack within the vehicle and are susceptible to burning, detonation, and explosion when impacted by spall fragments occurring when the vehicle wall is penetrated by small arms and medium caliber projectiles. A need exists to protect the munitions from these effects, reduce the probability of detonation and explosion, and increase crew survivability. Fiber reinforced composite materials have been used successfully for both ballistic armor and thermal protection systems. With nearly 35 years of composite experience for both applications, Fiber Materials, Inc. proposes an engineering design and modeling effort to determine the feasibility of combining fiber reinforced, fire retardant composites to provide ballistic impact and fire thermal protection in a single material. The study will include S2r-Glass and/or Kevlarr fabric in a matrix of FTR 402 fire retardant resin. The design options include separate structures to provide protection for the munitions rack and for individual munitions casings. The ballistic/thermal protection designs will be submitted for ballistic impact modeling and the predicted thermal response of each design.