Expansion of titanium applications: titanium materials enhance the combat effectiveness of tanks and armored vehicles
In the manufacture of tanks and armored vehicles, steel is the dominant key material, both in the past and present, or in the foreseeable period. But nowadays, titanium alloys have also become an indispensable important material. The alloys used are TC4, Ti-4Al-4V, Ti-4AI-4Mn, Ti-6Al-1.7Fe-0.1Si (Ti metal 62S), Ti Mainly -6Al-6V-2Sn-0.5Fe-0.5Cu. TC4 alloy (Ti-6Al-4V) is one of the most mature and versatile alloys. Among the structural titanium alloys used in the world every year, TC4 alloy accounts for almost 50%. Ti-6Al-6V-2 Sn-0.5 Fe-0.5 Cu alloy is equivalent to China's TC10 alloy (mass%): Al5.5～6.5, Sn1.5～2.5, V5.5～6.5, Fe0.35～1.0, Cu 0.35～1.0, C≤0.10, N≤0.04, B≤0.015, O≤0.20, the others are ≤0.1, the total is ≤0.4, and the rest are Ti.
In the 1990s, the American M1 Abrams main battle tank and M2 Bradley armored vehicles used titanium alloy plate armor (RHA). For the M1A2 main battle tank, the 7 steel parts were changed to titanium alloys. The original steel parts weighed 1591kg, while the titanium alloy parts weighed 1116kg, which was reduced by 475kg, or 29.86%. The 7 parts are: rotating turret Plate, engine roof and turret mainframe, nuclear warfare, biological and chemical weapon countermeasure system cover, command hatch and captain's thermal imaging observer cover, gunner’s main sight cover.
The command hatch and top armor of the M2 tank were originally forged from aluminum alloy. They were later changed to Ti-6Al-4V titanium alloy plates with a thickness of 100mm to 127mm. In 1997, the first batch of 580 vehicles was refitted. After the armor plate of the top part was changed to a titanium alloy plate, the quality was reduced by 35%. It is reported that the titanium alloy used is smelted in a low-cost electron beam cooling bed furnace, and a low-cost vanadium-free Ti-6Al-1.7Fe-0.1Si (Time 62S) alloy has also been successfully developed. In order to promote the application of titanium alloys in weapons, Water City Works conducted a systematic study on the anti-elastic properties of titanium alloys, and finally determined that titanium alloy is a good armor material, which is equivalent to ballistic steel. At this time, the thickness of the titanium alloy armor material is 25% thicker than that of steel, but due to the low density of titanium, the corresponding titanium alloy armor is 25% lighter than steel.
In 1953, the Detroit arsenal used RC-130AW titanium alloy plates to manufacture the top armor of the T55 armored vehicle. The plate thickness was 16mm. When tested with 37mm armor-piercing projectiles, all performances were good. In 1956, the United States used Ti-6Al-4V-2Sn-0.5Fe-0.5Cu titanium alloy forged tank tracks and road wheels, installed on a 50t tank, passed the 3380km off-road test, and was in good condition.
In 1960, the Shuicheng Arms Factory used Ti-6Al-4V and Ti-4Al-4V to manufacture the two command towers of the M-21 (XM-13) command vehicle and used 20mm shells for live ammunition tests. Two bomb speeds were used. One type was 450m/s and did not penetrate, but cracks appeared on the back of the plate; the second type was 504m/s, shot through the titanium plate, and the bullet stuck to the plate, but the crack did not expand, and the result was satisfactory. . The steel tower weighs 281kg, while the titanium alloy is only 177kg, which is 37% lighter than steel.
In addition, the United States has also made some other parts of the tank with titanium alloys, such as the driving axle, suspension arm, tow bar, torsion axle, and the front axle. Their mass is much lighter than steel. The driving axle is a very important part. It is forged with Ti-4Al-4Mn alloy. It has been tested on a 9654km sports car and brakes, and everything is satisfactory.
The U.S. Army uses Ti-6AI-4V alloy forged T109 tank tracks (including track shoes, pins, center guide blocks, and their sides, chains, etc.) to achieve very good results. The adhesion between titanium alloy track shoes and rubber is better than steel, and the mass is about 40% lighter than steel. The surface-treated track has been tested in a wild running of 1352km on a medium tank, and the design effect has been achieved.
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