Tuesday, January 29, 2008

US Patent 7322267 - Enhanced lightweight armor formed from metallic nanopowder

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7322267.html

This patent discloses an enhanced armor plating for protection against surface-to-air missiles which uses zirconium nanopowder as a component. Claim 1 reads:

1. An apparatus for protecting against an explosive warhead, comprising: an arrangement of multiple structural layers that includes a thin metal sheet imprinted on a first side with a network of adjoining hollow pockets, said sheet coated with a layer of metallic nanopowder and said pockets filled with water and anti-freeze and sealed; a coat of potassium bicarbonate powder on a second side opposite the first side of the thin metal sheet; and a composite foam material used to form a matrix with multiple overlapping layers of said thin metal sheet imbedded so that the second side faces toward the surface of a building or vehicle and the first side faces away from the surface of a building or vehicle and arranged so that said layers of metal sheets overlap at an angle relative to the surface of the building or vehicle, said formed matrix referred to as a first foam block.

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