Damage-Tolerant Armor Structures and Associated Modeling

The continuing threat of asymmetric warfare requires the United States Armed Forces to be at the forefront of armor technology.  Personnel, vehicles, and mobile installations are all potential targets for kinetic energy rounds.  To counter these threats, Kennon Products, Inc. is proposing to further develop its novel, scalable, damage-tolerant armor technologies.  Kennon’s lightweight hard armor structures not only effectively isolate damage from projectile impacts, but are inherently multi-hit capable, and able to retain nearly all structural strength and stiffness after impact - allowing them to be used as load-bearing members.  Kennon is also proposing to further develop its ballistic impact models to accurately predict armor/projectile interactions for this complex composite armor design, and aid DoD personnel in rapidly determining armor requirements based on specific threats.  Improved models will also allow armor structures to be optimized for performance and weight.  For this Phase I project, Kennon will prove the technical feasibility of its armor and modeling technologies, and secure support from Department of Defense customers and end-users.