Silicon carbide armor bodies, and methods for making same
US6805034B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Nov 1, 2002 |
| Grant date | Oct 19, 2004 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Mar 21, 2023 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY10T428/2929
- WIPO fieldMaterials, metallurgy
- WIPO sectorChemistry
Abstract
Silicon infiltration technology is used to produce ceramic bodies having utility as ballistic armor. In a first aspect of the invention, the ballistic armor includes a reaction-bonded silicon carbide body (RBSC). Good ballistic performance can be advanced by loading the permeable mass or preform to be infiltrated to a high degree with one or more hard fillers, and by limiting the size of the largest particles making up the mass. In a second aspect, the silicon infiltration technology, e.g., siliconizing or reaction-bonding, is used to bond silicon carbide fibers to at least the back surface of a ceramic armor body, thereby enhancing ballistic stopping power. A third aspect of the invention pertains to the ability to engineer RBSC bodies such that there is little dimensional change during processing, thereby permitting high dimensional reproducibility in large-scale production.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.