The Amount of Excess Weight from the Design of an Armored Vehicle Body by Using Composite Materials Instead of Steel

Abstract

In this paper, the amount of excess weight resulting from the design of a mathematical model composed of composite materials will be calculated and compared with a mathematical model of an armored steel structure. Five different models were designed, one of which is made of steel, the other part is made of composite materials, and a section of steel and composite materials, and then tested for resistance to stresses and compared the weight of each structure with that of the steel component by taking the maximum stress as a basic criterion for weight comparison. The results showed that the best model was the second model fiberglass, where the percentage of weight loss was compared to the steel model (73.77%), in addition to the wall thickness (62 mm) and the wall thickness of the steel model with which the comparison was (60 mm), but the displacement is (7. 24 mm), and in the steel model it is (1.827 mm). The best model compared to steel in terms of resistance to maximum stress, less displacement and less weight was the model consisting of steel with carbon fiber and its thickness was (47 layers& 57 mm, 2 layer & 10 mm steel and 45 layer & 45 mm carbon fiber), and the percentage of weight loss compared to the first mathematical model (60.96%). The results of this research may be a key to obtaining alternative materials for traditional materials in the manufacture of armored hulls, aircraft and ships, and it has a lower weight.