Adaptation of Ferrium M54 for Personal Armor

QuesTek Innovations LLC proposes to adapt its patented Ferrium M54 alloy for personal armor applications. The US Army Soldier Protection and Individual Equipment (SPIE) Program indicates the need for the development of Small Arms Protective Inserts (SAPIs) and Side Ballistic Inserts (SBIs) that will be able to protect the Soldier from threats such as basic small arms, sniper threats, and armor piercing threats while also providing a 10% weight reduction. This weight reduction is thought to be achievable via processes which will fabricate ultra-fine to nanoscale grains within the microstructure of the alloy, increasing the specific strength.In this Phase I SBIR program, QuesTek Innovations, a leader in the field of integrated computational material engineering (ICME), proposes to use an ICME informed test matrix to adapt Ferrium M54 to personal armor applications through fabrication of an ultra-fine grained, nanoreinforced microstructure. With its partners, Dr. Jonathan Montgomery, and Prof. Suveen Mathaudhu, QuesTek believes that Ferrium M54 is a good candidate for this application due to its high grain boundary cohesion, nanosized carbides, and high specific strength.