Advanced Alloys
Adept produces specialty steel, titanium, and bismuth alloys on a small-batch basis, often via powder metallurgical techniques. The steel and titanium alloys are optimized and intended for use in armor applications — particularly in applications where a combination of performance, toughness, a long service life, and resistance to punishing environmental conditions are required. The bismuth alloys are intended for use in next-gen green projectiles.
Carapace Steel
Carapace is a specially-processed, non-martensitic ultra-high strength steel (UHSS) engineered specifically for armor applications. It features remarkable strain-hardening characteristics, ultra-high tensile strength, surprising ductility, and good formability in its annealed condition. As one of the toughest alloys available anywhere, it is ideal for use in thin laminate armor systems, in standalone sheets for anti-blast and anti-frag applications, and in specialty applications where steel armor with the highest performance-to-weight ratio is required. Indeed, Carapace is highly competitive with fiber composite materials such as aramid and UHMWPE, even on a weight basis.
Adept is presently developing next-gen steel armor from Carapace steel. We also supply it on a wholesale basis to partners in industry, government, and academia.
Titanium
Adept has spent years refining the composition of its armor titanium alloys. We can supply fine-tuned ELI grades of titanium for specialty ballistic applications. The key advantage of armor titanium alloys lies in their ability to be formed to complex geometries, including deep-drawn parts, without risk of fracture, distortion, or excessive thinning. Titanium alloys work extraordinarily well in hybrid laminate armor systems – such as titanium-UHMWPE and titanium-steel – on account of their unique propensity for failure via the formation of a thick shear plug. As a standalone ballistic material, the best grades of titanium armor boast very good performance against ballistic threats, though are generally slightly inferior to Carapace. But whereas Carapace is typically used in very thin gauges, Adept’s armor titanium alloys are used in thicker sections that are highly suitable for use in structural load-bearing parts.
For more information on titanium armor in general, see our knowledgebase article on titanium alloy armor.
Bismuth
Adept has developed a castable and swageable bismuth alloy intended for use as an eco-friendly replacement for lead in bullet cores and shotgun pellets. This alloy, unlike comparable bismuth alloys already available on the market, is highly ductile and can mushroom rather than shatter upon impacting a soft target, thus delivering better and considerably more reliable terminal ballistic performance. Optimization work with commercial partners is ongoing. Adept can supply samples of this ballistic bismuth alloy to interested parties in industry, government, and academia.
For details or more information on any of the above alloys, please contact us.
