An armor plate and method of making an armor plate is provided having the steps of: suspending a carbon fiber weave within a mold; heating aluminum 6061 or 7075 alloy to a molten state; pouring the molten aluminum into the mold having ceramic particulates in the range of 1 to 60 percent by volume of the molten aluminum and in the range of 3-44 microns in diameter; cooling the resultant matrixed aluminum to ambient temperature; and laminating at least two layers of ballistic fiber to the matrixed aluminum.

A lightweight antiballistic plate assembly includes a ceramic antiballistic plate that is strengthened with a superhard protective layer attached to the strike face of the antiballistic plate. In one embodiment, a strike face of the plate has a layer of superhard material, such as polycrystalline diamond (PCD), attached by sintering. In one embodiment, the ceramic antiballistic plate is made from a mixture of silicon carbide and superhard protective strike face comprising a material selected from the group consisting of polycrystalline diamond (PCD), polycrystalline cubic boron nitride (PCBN), thermally stable polycrystalline diamond and combinations thereof.

An armor component and manufacturing thereof which includes a ceramic hard material, where the hard material has a bulk density that is lower than 3.5 g/cm.sup.3 and includes grains of ceramic material having a Vickers hardness that is higher than 15 GPa, bonded by an bonding matrix, the bonding matrix representing between 20 and 80% by weight of the constituent hard material of the ceramic body, and including alumina, silicon nitride and TiC.sub.xN.sub.1-x crystalline phases, wherein x is included between 0 and 1.

An armor system that includes a reactive armor component including a disruptive layer. The disruptive layer includes a plurality of three-dimensional geometric shapes each defining at least one hollow space and explosive material. The explosive material is deposited in the at least one hollow space. The disruptive layer also includes explosive material surrounding the geometric shapes and a layer of explosive material on top of the geometric shapes. The armor system may further include a non-reactive armor component.

An armor component including a body having a first portion including calcium boride compounds include non-stoichiometric calcium boride (CaB.sub.x) and stoichiometric calcium boride (CaB.sub.6) and having a density of at least about 80% theoretical density. In one aspect, the first portion can include a first phase comprising silicon carbide (SiC) and a second phase comprising calcium boride (CaB.sub.6). In another aspect, the first portion can further include a third phase comprising boron carbide (B.sub.4C).

A ceramic composite can include a first ceramic phase and a second ceramic phase. The first ceramic phase can include a silicon carbide. The second phase can include a boron carbide. In an embodiment, the silicon carbide in the first ceramic phase can have a grain size in a range of 0.8 to 200 microns. The first phase, the second phase, or both can further include a carbon. In another embodiment, at least one of the first ceramic phase and the second ceramic phase can have a median minimum width of at least 5 microns.

An ultra-hard carbon film is formed by the uniaxial compression of thin films of graphene. The graphene films are two or three layers thick (2-L or 3-L). High pressure compression forms a diamond-like film and provides improved properties to the coated substrates.

In a first aspect, the invention provides a sensorially attractive puncture-resistant panel having a first surface and a second surface, wherein at least one of the first surface and the second surface is sensorially attractive. In some embodiments, the panel comprises, consists, or consists essentially of a first layer having a first surface and a second surface, wherein at least one of the first surface and the second surface is sensorially attractive, and a second layer that is puncture-resistant and comprises, consists, or consists essentially of a puncture-resistant material. In some embodiments, the panel is sensorially attractive to a child.

An kinetic object protection system for protecting a space in a building or vehicle comprising a protective barrier including one or more sheets of a laminated material having a plurality of layers of lightweight, flexible, ballistic resistant material such as woven sheets, nets, or mesh which are secured together using a glue, heat weld, or stitching. The system may include an automated control system operably configured to cause a change in state of the barrier from a retracted state to a protective deployed state, which may include a sensing system operably configured to detect a threatening event, wherein the sensing system upon sensing the threatening event triggers the barrier to transition from the retracted state to the deployed protective state such that in the protective state, the barriers are adapted to be resistant to penetration by the kinetic objects such as vehicles.

A screening element in the form of a sintered monolithic body has an outer face and an opposing inner face with an area of the faces greater than 100 cm.sup.2 and the mean thickness E.sub.m between the faces greater than 4 mm. At least a portion of the outer face is textured such that Ai decreases from the inner face from a value of i greater than at least 50, A.sub.75≥0.2×A.sub.0 and A.sub.95<0.9×A.sub.0, 0.03×A.sub.0<A.sub.95<0.5×A.sub.0 and A.sub.100<0.1×A.sub.0. Ai being the area occupied by the material alone along a plane i of internal section at the intermediate thickness E.sub.i and i corresponding in percentage to the fraction of the mean thickness E.sub.m at plane i.