Aluminum Armor Plate——From Single to 5-ply Plates

Chalco armor plates have undergone four generations of research and development, with representative products including the first generation 5083 and 5456 armor plates, the second generation 7039 armor plates, and the third generation 2519 and 2139 armor plates.

The latest advancements feature cutting-edge 5-ply and 9-ply composite aluminum armor plates, foam armor plates, and honeycomb armor plates. Chalco armor plates maintain strict quality control, and the products comply with standards such as MIL-DTL-32341, MIL-DTL-45225, MIL-DTL-46027, MIL-DTL-46083E, MIL-DTL-32375B, GJB 9614-2019, and GJB 1540-2021, among others. Multiple quality inspections are provided.

Chalco's latest composite armor plate product——Patented technology, hot-selling products

To meet the higher performance requirements of armor plates, Chalco has pioneered the layered composite technology for aluminum armor plates. This process involves hot-rolled composite methods, stacking, heating, and applying pressure to 7072, 7A52, and 7A62 aluminum alloy plates to produce 5-ply, 7-plyr, and 9-plyr composite aluminum alloy plates.

Composite aluminum plates are widely used in military and armor applications, ensuring that military armor plates achieve maximum hardness, ductility, blast resistance, and impact resistance while maintaining the lightest weight.

The aluminum alloy layered composite armor plates, also known as "sandwich structure" plates, consist of high-strength aluminum alloys combined with lower-strength alloys that offer better toughness and weldability. The hard outer layer provides ballistic protection, while the elastic backing prevents debris spall, and the separation between the face plate and the core absorbs energy in layers. The overall penetration resistance is higher than that of homogeneous armor, and the blast resistance is significantly improved.

Lightweight Design: Provides excellent protection while reducing weight.
Superior Energy Absorption: The layered structure effectively absorbs impact energy, minimizing damage.
Ballistic and Blast Resistance: Combines high strength with good ductility to enhance overall protection.
Good Weldability: Facilitates processing and application, adapting to various armor requirements.

Three-ply composite armor plate

Alloy: 7039 7005 7039

The panel can also be replaced with 5083.
Five-plycomposite armor plate

Alloy: 7072 7A52 7072 7A62 7072

Thickness(mm): 18, 20, 21, 25, 30
Sever-ply composite armor plate

Alloy: 7072 7A52 7072 7A52 7072 7A62 7072

Thickness(mm): 25

Size: 1500×5000
Nine-ply composite armor plate

Alloy: 7072 7A52 7072 7A52 7072 7A62 7072 7A62 7072

Thickness(mm): 35, 40

Size: 1500×5000
Foam aluminum armor plate

Porous Aluminum Foam Sheet can reduce weight, enhance explosion and impact resistance, and provide sound insulation.
Honeycomb aluminum armor plate

Alloy: 7039 7005 7039

More commonly used on the body and roof of light armored vehicles, as well as on ship armor.

Alloy	Tensile strength MPa	Yield strength MPa	Elongation %	Shear strength	Impact strength at high strain rates (3000-5000/s)
7072 aluminum plate	260-330	160-220	12-18	-	-
7A52 aluminum plate	≥410 MPa	≥345 MPa	≥7	-	-
7A62 aluminum plate	380-450	340-400	6-10	-	-
Composite plate	≥581MPa	≥530MPa	≥9.5%	≥107MPa	≥792MPa

Chalco 5-ply Composite Armor Plate Product Quality Certifica According To En 10204 3.1

Product

Aluminium armor plate

Customer

BMC

Alloy

A01+A62+A01+A52+ A01

Dimension(mm)

18mmx1500mmx3000mm

Lot No.

Production standards:

Factory standard

CHEMICAL ANALYSIS(%) According to the MIL-DTL-46027K

Element

Other

Each

Total

A01 Actual

0.04 5

0.276

0.001

0.008

1.17

0.004

＜0.05

＜0.15

Rem.

A52 Actual

0.052

0.093

0.14

0.33

0.16

2.68

4.69

0.08

0.094

＜0.05

＜0.15

Rem.

A62 Actual

0.042

0.107

0.307

0.419

0.106

3.11

7.10

0.107

0.093

0.001

＜0.05

＜0.15

Rem.

PHYSICAL and MECHANICAL PROPERTIES According to MIL-DTL-46027K

Inspec. Item

Tensile Strength Rm (Mpa)

Yield Strength Rp0.2 (Mpa)

Shear Strength (Mpa)

A Elongation(%)

Brinell hardness

Actual

607

580

7.5

A52

A62

145

186

Thickness mm

Bullet shape number

Bullet speed m/s V25

Shooting range m

Safety angle°

Effective number of Bullet

Type 53 7.62mm ordinary steel core bullet

828+7-8

100

≤35

Type 53 7.62mm WO-109C armor-piercing incendiary bomb

808+7-8

≤41

818+7-8

≤28

Type 54 12.7mm armor-piercing incendiary bomb

818+7-8

≤39

Chalco first generation armor plate products

Early armored vehicles were mainly made of steel. With the increasing demand for protective capabilities of armored vehicles in modern warfare, ideal armor materials also need characteristics such as lightweight, impact resistance, high mobility, and corrosion resistance. As the first generation of lightweight armor plates, aluminum alloy plates such as 5083, 5456 were developed and applied under this demand.

5083 armor plate

Good corrosion resistance and weldability, along with moderate tensile strength and ductility, utilized in naval vessels for armor plates and structural components.

5456 armor aluminum plate

Commonly used in bulletproof vehicles, warships, and military diving equipment.
5046 armor aluminum plate

High strength and good weldability, suitable for military armored vehicles and military fighter jets.
5059 armor aluminum plate

Relatively high strength and hardness, good corrosion resistance and processability.
2024 armor aluminum plate

Good fatigue strength and hardness provide good defense for armored vehicles.
6061 armor aluminium plate

Used for ground vehicle armor and industrial machinery armor.

Chalco second generation armor plate products

Most of the first generation aluminum alloy armor plates cannot be strengthened by heat treatment and have poor resistance to direct impact from small caliber projectiles, making it difficult to meet the protection requirements. Chalco second-generation armor plate alloys such as 7039, 7056, 7020, 7017 have made up for these deficiencies and are used to resist high-speed shrapnel, warheads, explosive impacts, and other threats.

7039 armor plate

High-strength aluminum alloy, typically exhibiting excellent tensile strength and corrosion resistance.Commonly used in armored vehicles for body and chassis, providing good ballistic performance and structural strength.

7A52 armor plate

High-hardness aluminum alloy with good modulus of elasticity and impact resistance, employed in light armored vehicles for armor plates and protective components.

7B52 armor plate

Maintains strength while providing high ductility, offering excellent energy absorption capabilities. Commonly used in armored vehicle floors and side armor.

7085 armor plate

Renowned for its exceptional strength and toughness, offering superior blast protection and durability.

7056 armor aluminum plate

High strength;
Higher impact resistance.
7020 armor aluminum plate

Moderate strength;
Corrosion resistance;
Weldable aluminum alloy.
7017 armor aluminum plate

High strength;
Weldable aluminum alloy.
7018 armor aluminum plate

Can be welded with a thickness of over 50 mm.
7075 armor aluminum plate

Very high tensile strength;
Excellent hardness;
Relatively light.

Chalco third generation armor plate products

To address the ballistic and stress corrosion resistance of aluminum alloys, Chalco third-generation armor plate alloys such as 2519, 2139, 2195 have been introduced, which have higher mechanical properties, ballistic resistance, weldability, and stress corrosion resistance.

2139 armor plate

Ultra-high-strength aluminum alloy, known for its outstanding penetration resistance and ballistic performance.

2519/2519A T87 armor aluminum plate

Higher ballistic performance than 7039;
Better stress corrosion resistance than 5083.
2195 T8 P4 armor aluminum plate

Increased strength and hardness;
Good welding performance.

Advantages of Chalco aluminum plate in military

The high-toughness backplate undergoes extensive plastic deformation around the impact point, reducing fragment generation and further enhancing protective performance.
The multi-interface energy absorption design alters the projectile trajectory through material layering, preventing fragment damage, and even at the same density, the ballistic performance of composite armor is significantly superior to that of homogeneous armor.
The lightweight design makes the armor plate easy to install and operate, adapting to various combat needs.
Composite armor has a significantly higher protection coefficient than homogeneous armor, with lighter weight and thickness under the same ballistic capability.
Composite armor features design flexibility, allowing adjustments in performance, quality, and thickness based on different requirements and combat environments.
The layered composite structure utilizes impedance differences at internal material interfaces to achieve lightweight design and strong impact resistance, making it a vital choice for modern protective materials.
Composite armor can withstand various anti-armor weapons, with a hard aluminum outer layer providing excellent resistance to projectile penetration, effectively suppressing fragments and enhancing penetration resistance.

Property advantage of Chalco composite armor plate

Production capacity of Chalco armor aluminum plate

Chalco has obtained certifications such as ENISO9100:2018, Nadcap Non Destructive Testing, Nadcap Materials Testing Laboratories, and Nadcap Heat Treatment to ensure product quality and reliability.
The melting and casting factory has multiple melting and casting production lines, adopting the latest semi continuous low liquid level vertical well casting technology, equipped with electromagnetic stirring, online hydrogen and slag measurement systems, as well as advanced online degassing and filtering systems, which improve casting efficiency and product quality.
Adopting the hot continuous rolling and cold rolling production lines of German Siemens, equipped with advanced electrical configuration, closed-loop control, regulation system, multi zone cooling system, and temperature control system, to ensure the production of high-quality aluminum armor plates.

Through advanced equipment and processes, Chalco is able to achieve efficient sawing, milling, rolling, and cold rolling, improving production efficiency while reducing production costs.Quick Quote

Production capacity

Chalco armor plate product quality inspection

Unlike other functional aluminum plates, armor plates have higher and stricter quality requirements due to the unique nature of their use areas. Chemical composition, strength, hardness, processability, and corrosion resistance must be strictly controlled during and after production.

Chalco product development and production are within the MIL-DTL standard range, and can provide finished product testing to ensure quality meets customer requirements.

Initial product inspection testing methods

Chemical composition: extract samples for chemical analysis from each plate selected for ballistic testing.
Mechanical performance: extract tensile test samples from each board selected for ballistic testing.
Ballistic testing: according to the standards in the standard attachment, two 12x36 inch plates of each thickness provided in the contract are taken for ballistic testing.
Stress corrosion test: the stress corrosion test samples are extracted from the same plate selected for ballistic testing.

Product compliance inspection testing methods

Chemical composition: when tested according to the provisions of this standard, the sample must meet the chemical composition requirements.
Mechanical properties: for tensile testing, samples are randomly selected from different plates in the batch, and only one tensile test sample is taken from each sample.
Ballistic testing: randomly select a 12x36 inch plate from each batch for ballistic testing.
Stress corrosion test: randomly select a 12x12 inch plate from each batch for this test.

Other military product series in Chalco

2024 7075 Al military profile

7039 Al military profile

2219 Al military profile

5083 Al military profile

7050 Al military forging

7039 Al military forging

The importance of replacing steel with aluminum in armor plate

Aluminum has low density and good mechanical properties, which can reduce the weight of armored vehicles and increase driving speed while improving structural stiffness;
Aluminum has high strength and toughness, with comprehensive performance of anti-penetration and anti-fragmentation;
Aluminum has better processing performance and is suitable for mass production;
Aluminum has stronger welding performance, which better adapts to the manufacturing of different models of armored vehicles;
Aluminum has stronger thermal nuclear resistance, which can effectively protect personnel inside the vehicle from radiation damage.

armor plate