What is Armor Plate?
An armor plate, also known as a protective plate, is a hardened piece of material designed to offer protection against various threats, such as ballistic projectiles, explosions, and impacts. Armor plates are used in a wide range of applications, including military vehicles, aircraft, naval vessels, and personal protective equipment like body armor.
Armor Plate Applications
The primary purpose of an armor plate is to absorb and dissipate the energy of incoming threats, thereby preventing penetration and reducing the potential damage or harm to the protected entity or individual. The effectiveness of an armor plate is determined by its ability to withstand and deflect the specific threats it’s designed to counter.
Armor plates can be custom designed for specific threats, such as bullets of various calibers, artillery shell fragments, or improvised explosive devices (IEDs). The design is heavily influenced by factors such as the type of threats expected, weight restrictions, and mobility requirements.
In addition to military and law enforcement applications, armor plates are also used in civilian contexts, such as cash transit vehicles, armored vehicles for personal protection, security personnel, and high-risk environments.
The development of advanced materials and manufacturing techniques continues to improve the effectiveness and versatility of armor plates across various fields.
Materials Used to Make Armor Plate
Armor plates can be constructed from various materials, each offering different levels of protection and properties:
Steel: Steel and other metals have been historically used as armor plate materials due to their toughness and durability. However, they can be heavy and relatively thick, which may limit mobility and add weight to vehicles or personnel.
Ceramics: Ceramic materials like alumina or boron carbide are used to create composite armor plates. These ceramics are extremely hard and can shatter bullets or other projectiles upon impact, dispersing their energy and preventing penetration.
Composite Materials: Modern armor plates often combine different materials to optimize protection, weight, and thickness. Composite armor plates may include a combination of metals, ceramics, and synthetic fibers.
Synthetic Fibers: High-strength synthetic fibers like aramid (e.g., Kevlar) and polyethylene are sometimes used in the construction of lightweight armor plates. These materials are flexible and offer a good balance between protection and mobility.
Dynamic Armor Plates from Titus Steel
Titus Steel has a long and successful history of fabricating and distributing armor and ballistic steel primarily for SWAT, law enforcement, and the military to use in their Live Fire Training Systems. We also manufacture armor and ballistic steel used in KITS for armored personnel vehicles and cash transit vehicles.
All of our steel is tested at various threat levels depending on your requirements, including everything from stopping a 7.62mm NATO round to a 45-calibre round.
Our testing is done according to one of four accepted standards: NIJ (Nation Institute of Justice), STANAG (Standard Agreement NATO), UL (Underwriters Laboratory), and CEN (European Committee for Standardization).
Titus Steel is equipped to supply the right armor plate for the right application. Contact us today to learn more about our products and to receive your customized quote.
Titus Steel Leads the Way in More Eco-Friendly Wear Resistant Steel Production
Wear resistant steel production has long been associated with high carbon emissions, with each tonne of steel yielding 1.8 tonnes of CO2, amounting to a staggering 9% of global greenhouse gas emissions. While using scrap steel as a substitute for iron ore and coke can help reduce CO2 emissions, it falls short of meeting the world’s steel demand. In response, innovative and sustainable methods are being explored to revolutionize the industry, many of which involve the replacement of coke. Here’s how Titus Steel is leading the way with its wear resistant steel production. (more…)
Do You Know How Steel is Made?
Few of us realize that steel and steel products are a major part of our everyday lives. Everything from computers, cars, and steel piles, to supports in buildings and thousands of other products all contain steel. But have you ever wondered how steel is actually made?
Back to the Beginning
In 1886, Henry Bessemer developed the first process to affordably produce steel and it is still used to this day. But it all started with iron ore, which is mined all over the world today. The process entails the crushing of sedimentary rocks that contain iron. Magnetic rollers are then used to separate the iron ore. The iron ore is then mixed with coke – which comes from coal and has a high carbon content – in a furnace to form molten iron or pig iron. Let’s examine the two main types of methods used to accomplish this:
Using the Basic Oxygen Process (BOP) Method
First, the furnace is charged by adding scrap steel to it, which also helps to partly control the temperature within the furnace and provides various other elements to the mix. This mixture varies in composition but usually contains around 25% scrap steel and 75% liquid iron.
Oxygen is then “blasted” into the mix, combining with the impure elements, including some of the carbon. Lime is added to separate the impurities and turn them into slag. To adjust the chemical composition, a sample is taken, analyzed, and supplemented with additional elements.
At this point in the process, the molten steel is poured into a ladle and the slag is separated from the steel. It is then poured into casters and formed into slabs, blooms, or billets and left to cool down. Later, these large blocks are reheated and rolled out or drawn into plates, bars, and beams, which can also undergo further processing including quenching and tempering to further strengthen and may result in abrasion resistant steel as well as other grades.
Using the Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) Method
In this process, high current electric arcs are used to melt scrap steel with the help of electrodes attached to the lid of the furnace. An electric arc is passed through the electrodes to melt the scrap.
Other metals and elements are also added depending on the desired chemical composition of the steel. Once everything is melted, the impurities combine with the addition of oxygen, while lime is added to separate the impurities into a slag. The molten steel is then poured into casters, similar to the BOP process.
Abrasion Resistant Steel: The Titus Steel Product Difference
Titus Steel’s WEAR products (ENDURA, ENDURA Dual, Manganese) undergo further processing in order to achieve abrasion resistant steel with high wear and work hardening properties that are necessary to extend the life of the steel and reduce unnecessary down time.
About Titus Steel
The Wear & Impact Steel Specialists
Since 1957, Titus Steel has been serving governments, companies, and engineers across North America with exceptional abrasion resistant steel products. Our solutions and products enable our customers to reduce down time, increase payload, and protect employees. We are driven by quality and innovative solutions.
We work hard to build lasting relationships with our suppliers and our customers and have offices as well as warehouses in Toronto, Ontario and Cartersville, Georgia.
To learn more about how Titus Steel can help you, contact us today.
Examining the Process of Quenching and Tempering Titanium Carbide Steel Plates
Examining the Process of Quenching and Tempering Titanium Carbide Steel Plates
In order to make steel stronger and more durable, a technique known as quenching and tempering is used by Titus Steel. This treatment strengthens and hardens the steel by heating it to very high temperatures, rapidly cooling it, and then slowly reheating it again. (more…)
AR 400 Steel Vs. AR 500 Steel – What is the Difference?
AR 400 Steel Vs. AR 500 Steel – What is the Difference?
Abrasion Resistant (AR) steel contains carbon and alloys that make it harder than other types of steel. They are also less formable and not as weather resistant. However, their hardness contribute to AR steel being the preferred product in industrial manufacturing, mining, and construction, where abrasion and wear-and-tear are common factors. (more…)