High Strength Amorphous Metal Alloy for Penetrator Noses and Cases

Kinetic penetrators are currently made of depleted alloys of uranium or tungsten, which are both toxic heavy metals that are harmful to human health and the environment. Amorphous metals have the high strength, fracture toughness and surface erosion resistance needed to replace uranium and tungsten without sacrificing performance. Recent research on amorphous metals has developed bulk metallic glasses that can be cast into larger pieces (>1.5 cm in diameter) without crystallizing. TDA Research will prepare samples of a bulk metallic glass alloy with high glass forming ability that has the materials properties required by kinetic penetrator noses and cases for ballistic applications. A viable path forward for scaling up the production of larger parts will also be demonstrated.