Military makes stronger Humvee from balsa wood and foam
TPI Composites has built a Hummer for the Army that is made of composite materials. The Hummer loses 900 pounds of metal body panels and parts, which are then replaced with parts fabricated of fiberglass, balsa wood, foam, and carbon, with resin as a bonding agent.
That 900 pounds is then put back in the vehicle in the form of extra armor where the truck most needs it: in areas that will protect it from roadside bombs. The composite truck has some quirks -- like a body that feels like sandpaper, and the fact that the fenders bend and some other panels are pliable. Yet even though it weighs the same as a traditional Humvee, the point is that it's better built to withstand the threat that kills more soldiers than any other.
AM General and the Army spent 18 months doing R&D on the vehicle. No tests have been carried out yet and the Army hasn't committed to buying any. But if substituting metal for composites and additional armor is shown to save lives, then the vehicle -- which costs more than a standard Humvee -- could make a lot of friends in dangerous places.
[Source: Gizmodo]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Jeff 1:39PM (9/19/2007)
My best freind's boy just got back from his second tour in Iraq with the US Marines. If this vehicle saves lives, the extra cost is worth it. I do not think it matters one bit if you're pro war, anti war, or don't give a hoot about the war, if fewer people die, it's a good thing.
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WolfgangNC 2:05PM (9/19/2007)
very true. who cares if the fenders blow up...if the passengers survive and the Humvee gets home then that is what matters. Prettiness in war should not be a factor.
Mike 2:45PM (9/19/2007)
Yeah who cares if the fenders are plyable it's not like you would be salvaging any part of an H1 after an IED anyway. I'm all for wooden seats if it saves a Marines a$$!!! :P
Alex 2:03PM (9/19/2007)
worth repeating:
I do not think it matters one bit if you're pro war, anti war, or don't give a hoot about the war, if fewer people die, it's a good thing.
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dan spalinger 2:04PM (9/19/2007)
Why bother?? The H1 is being replaced shortly by its successor be it AM General or not...intead of wasting time and money on a stopgap product they need to focus on the next generation...no amount of armor they can put on an H1 is gonna keep RPG's or force directed IED's at bay...hell, the ones they are using now penetrate Bradley and Abrams armor let alone some simple steel plating...
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geo.stewart 3:49PM (9/19/2007)
the technology and theories will carry over. doubt it will get implemented on the current one if there is a new one around the corner. the next one could carry some of this technology.
and for below: if balsa is inside the armor, then the extra armor saves the balsa and my ar$e.
Sandpaper-feel? whoope-de-do
theSAWzall 2:05PM (9/19/2007)
Adding more armor will just mean the IED has to be bigger. They need to go to a V-shaped hull or some other design innovation to really make a difference IMO. Perhaps the technology will help the next generation of military "jeeps".
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Nick 2:32PM (9/19/2007)
The Canadian vehicle used in Afghanistan is the South African built RG-31 Nyala .. it has such a V-Shaped Hull you describe.. Seems to work well..
Za 3:37PM (9/19/2007)
Nick, actually, the US uses the RG-31 and I think has 5-8 for every one that Canada has.
NeoteriX 2:14PM (9/19/2007)
How Balsa wood makes a vehicle less suspect to explosions seems pretty interesting. I wonder how it works.
I wonder if the same vehicle is as protective against bullets and other arms fire.
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Seminole 6:26PM (9/19/2007)
Actually mixing small wooden flakes into substances gives it amazing strength.
During WW2, the army experimented with something called Pykrete. It was about 12% wood pulp mixed with 88% water, then frozen. The wood actually slowed down the melting process tremendously. It was damn near indestructible, and the navy had even considered making massive aircraft carriers out of the stuff.
This is a quote from Wikipedia about a 2" 50% (half water, half wood pulp) block of pykrete that was shot at: "The above image shows a two inch thick 50% mixture (by volume using shredded wood mulch) hit by a single 7.62 x 39 mm rifle round fired from 30 feet which bounced off the surface. It took an additional 7 rounds of 7.62 x 39 mm fired from 15 feet to penetrate the block."
Heres more of a read on it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pykrete
upirons 2:24PM (9/19/2007)
I am all for safe soldiers. Which is why I question why you would make the Humvee safer from bombs but allow it to lose other safety features, like functional bumpers that might protect lives in accidents. Seems like a tradeoff instead of a real solution.
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Jeff the Baptist 4:29PM (9/19/2007)
Any word on a new engine? That would help a lot as well since the current supercharged diesel is a bit behind the times.
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goldpackage 8:24PM (9/19/2007)
How about a new version of the Humvee that will transport American soldiers to somewhere they're welcome instead of hated? Imagine how many lives that would save!
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Barney 1:24AM (9/20/2007)
Fantastic idea!