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Ballistic plate
A ballistic plate, also known as an armour plate, is a protective armoured plate inserted into a carrier or bulletproof vest, that can be used stand-alone, or in conjunction with other armour. "Hard armour" usually denotes armour that uses ballistic plates.
It serves to defeat higher threats, and may be considered as a form of applique armour. It is usually inserted into the front and back, with side inserts also sometimes used. There are also plates for other regions, such as the shoulders, lap, and throat.
Ballistic plates can be found in a variety of sizes and shapes. In the industry, armour plate shapes are common referred to as a cut, in reference to how the strike face must be cut from the material. The most common are the:
Some other cuts exist, but are far less used, such as the ergonomic cut, which covers most of the torso, and the ranger cut, which has largely fallen out of favour for much the same reasons as square.
Most overt armour plates usually are sized to 250 mm × 300 mm (10 in × 12 in), 280 mm × 360 mm (11 in × 14 in), and other such dimensions, however SAPI plates are slightly different. In addition, armour plates may be curved to assist in the user's comfort and ergonomics.
Most ballistic plates are made of a combination of materials. The following categories denote the primary material used in different plate packages.
Ceramic armor plates, typically composed of boron carbide, silicon carbide, or other similar materials, are commonplace in military applications. The advantage of ceramic armor is that it is not only lighter than metals, but also much harder, which enables it to deform tungsten core penetrators and resist ammunition at a high velocity.
Ceramic material defeats projectiles by shattering it into pieces and deforming it to enlarge its surface area and reducing its velocity, decreasing the penetration ability of the projectile. Compared to metal counterparts like steel or titanium, ceramic plates have inferior multi-hit resistance due to its somewhat brittle nature, though most modern ceramic plates mitigate this with extensive tiling and thickness; regardless, they are still somewhat vulnerable to projectiles which hit in a tight grouping, as these create a stress concentration on the plate and shatter the section of plate targeted, although there are workarounds, as with the IM/PACT technologies demonstrated by Ceradyne, which use a stainless steel crack arrestor, or the titanium arrestor of the newest GRANIT GOST 6A armoured plates fielded by Russia's Armed Forces. Ceramic plates can also have their performance reduced or be rendered completely useless if subjected to excessively rough handling, though the exact tolerance for rough handling can vary; British military instructions for the ceramic plates issued with Osprey body armour required users to discard and replace plates that were cracked or otherwise damaged, while stressing that air pockets and minor blemishes did not affect performance.
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Ballistic plate AI simulator
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Ballistic plate
A ballistic plate, also known as an armour plate, is a protective armoured plate inserted into a carrier or bulletproof vest, that can be used stand-alone, or in conjunction with other armour. "Hard armour" usually denotes armour that uses ballistic plates.
It serves to defeat higher threats, and may be considered as a form of applique armour. It is usually inserted into the front and back, with side inserts also sometimes used. There are also plates for other regions, such as the shoulders, lap, and throat.
Ballistic plates can be found in a variety of sizes and shapes. In the industry, armour plate shapes are common referred to as a cut, in reference to how the strike face must be cut from the material. The most common are the:
Some other cuts exist, but are far less used, such as the ergonomic cut, which covers most of the torso, and the ranger cut, which has largely fallen out of favour for much the same reasons as square.
Most overt armour plates usually are sized to 250 mm × 300 mm (10 in × 12 in), 280 mm × 360 mm (11 in × 14 in), and other such dimensions, however SAPI plates are slightly different. In addition, armour plates may be curved to assist in the user's comfort and ergonomics.
Most ballistic plates are made of a combination of materials. The following categories denote the primary material used in different plate packages.
Ceramic armor plates, typically composed of boron carbide, silicon carbide, or other similar materials, are commonplace in military applications. The advantage of ceramic armor is that it is not only lighter than metals, but also much harder, which enables it to deform tungsten core penetrators and resist ammunition at a high velocity.
Ceramic material defeats projectiles by shattering it into pieces and deforming it to enlarge its surface area and reducing its velocity, decreasing the penetration ability of the projectile. Compared to metal counterparts like steel or titanium, ceramic plates have inferior multi-hit resistance due to its somewhat brittle nature, though most modern ceramic plates mitigate this with extensive tiling and thickness; regardless, they are still somewhat vulnerable to projectiles which hit in a tight grouping, as these create a stress concentration on the plate and shatter the section of plate targeted, although there are workarounds, as with the IM/PACT technologies demonstrated by Ceradyne, which use a stainless steel crack arrestor, or the titanium arrestor of the newest GRANIT GOST 6A armoured plates fielded by Russia's Armed Forces. Ceramic plates can also have their performance reduced or be rendered completely useless if subjected to excessively rough handling, though the exact tolerance for rough handling can vary; British military instructions for the ceramic plates issued with Osprey body armour required users to discard and replace plates that were cracked or otherwise damaged, while stressing that air pockets and minor blemishes did not affect performance.