There are many reports on the application of titanium and titanium alloys in tanks in the United States, but in China, the former Soviet Union, and Russia, there are few reports on this aspect. In the 1990s, the Abrams M1 main battle tank and the Bradley M2 combat vehicle of the United States used many titanium alloy parts to replace the Rolled Homogeneous Armour (Rolled Homogeneous Armour). , RHA).
It is said that seven major steel components are replaced with titanium alloy forged ring on the M1A2 main battle tank: rotating turret plate, nuclear warfare, biological and chemical weapons countermeasure system shield, gunner main sight cover, engine top cover, turret pivot mount, command Hatch cover, vehicle commander thermal imaging observer cover. The total mass of these components made of steel was 1591kg. After changing to titanium alloy, the total mass dropped to 1116kg, a reduction of nearly 30%.
The command hatch and top attack armor of the M2 chariot were originally forged from aluminum alloys, and were later made of 100mm-127mm Ti-6Al-4V alloy plates. The attack armor was made of 80mm thick titanium alloy plates. Their mass ratio Steel parts are 35% lighter. The Ti-6Al-4V alloy was smelted in a low-cost electron beam cooling bed furnace, and a low-cost Ti-6A-1.7Fe-0.1Si Timetal 62S alloy was also developed