The origins of armour plate steel can be traced back to the invention of tanks during the first world war and since it’s inception the thickness of armour plate steel has increased significantly. Thicker armour plate steel was required to defend against the increasingly bigger and more powerful ballistics that were being used, specifically in the second world war.
Armour Plate Steel Properties
To be effective, armour plate steel must be extremely hard and have excellent resistance to shock. The combination of both properties ensures that the steel has outstanding blast and ballistic protection. High yield strength and high tensile strength of over 1000 MPa and 1250 MPa, respectively.
Types of Armour Plate Steel
Rolled homogenous armour (RHA) is a common configuration of armour plate steel. It consists of a single steel composition, that is hot-rolled to improve its material properties. It was initially used for tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles in the war.
Over the years RHA has started to be replaced with modern armour plate steel that can provide the same amount of protection with a thinner and lighter plate.
Armour Plate Steel Applications
We’ve mentioned previously that armour plate steel is used in the military for tanks and other military vehicles to provide a high level of ballistic protection. Similarly, armour plate steel is now used for security vehicles, as it is now thin enough to be unnoticed on a car, for example.
In addition to vehicles, armour plate steel can also be used to provide a level of security in buildings, such as banks and government offices. For example, in banks, armour plate steel can be used to reinforce bank counters to provide protection to the bankers and the bank vaults to reduce the risk of robberies.
Armour Plate Steel from Masteel
Masteel supply a range of armour plate steel designations of the highest quality and specification. Our steels exhibit high yield and tensile strength and conform to MIL-DTL-2560(K) and DEF-STAN 95-24 specifications.
Our armour plate steel is created using a direct quenching process, which promotes good dimensional accuracy and surface flatness.
If you would like any more information about our range of armour plate steel products, please contact us.