Armor research

[Soban]

Executive Summary

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As instructed by Mr Burton, our scientific and engineering team has completed the next-generation capital-ship armour plating. All that made possible by the large ore stockpile Grey secured with the Starfliers.
What follows is the condensed technical dossier; the three-month test data and raw logs are available on request.

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Macro-architecture

Code:

VACUUM / THREAT DIRECTION
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
1  Ir-C Ceramic Flash-Coat                          70 µm
2  Ir-W Micro-Lattice Heat-Sink                     25 mm
3  NxRA Tile (Ir-toughened alumina / “kick plate”)  80 mm
4  STF-Gel / Kevlar Flex-Layer                      10 mm
5  PCM-Infused Self-Healing Composite               30 mm
6  TZM Refractory Sandwich Primary Hull            150 mm
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
SHIP INTERNAL

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Layer-by-Layer Walk-through

#	Layer	Role	Side note
1	Iridium-carbide flash coat	Ultra-thin cermet sputtered skin; shrugs off laser, plasma and atomic-O.	Even a 70 µm film survives ≈ 2 200 °C and reflects soft X-rays.
2	Ir-W micro-lattice panel	Additively printed gyroid open-cell lattice to spreads heat and vents micro-debris; areal density ≈ 1.2 g cm⁻³.	Iridium strengthens W struts at red-heat and resists creep better than Ni super-alloys.
3	Non-explosive reactive armor (NxRA) tile	Ir-toughened alumina / nitrile / alumina sandwich deflects jets & penetrators (like tank tech but supersized).	Plates stay intact white-hot; steel or Ti would local-melt under beam fire.
4	Shear-thickening fluid (STF) gel mesh	Kevlar-E weave with SiO₂-PEG shear-thickening gel; fluid in cruise, solid on impact.	Ir dust from layers above is chemically inert—no gel poisoning.
5	Phase-change/self-healing composite	CNT-epoxy with PCM capsules (heat-soak) and resin capsules (vacuum self-seal).	Ppm-level Ir nano-seeds accelerate cure even at −120 °C
6	TZM refractory sandwich	0.5 mm Ti-Zr-Mo facesheets + 3 mm corrugated core, diffusion-bonded into 150 mm panels. Should provide sufficient protection against energy based weaponry.	Keeps full strength to ≈ 1 200 °C, matches Ir-W expansion and adds +60 % γ-shielding over Al-Li.]

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Manufacturing Process (all facilities available at Livadia & Kadesh)

1. Powder-bed fusion of Ir alloys → electron-beam PBF builds the Ir-W lattice at 100 µm layers (retool for gyroid).
   
2. CVD Flash-Coat → IrCl₄ precursor cracks on the hot lattice, growing a 70 µm Ir-C layer.
   
3. Tile Assembly → Lattice + NxRA + gel mesh are HIP-pressed into 1 m × 1 m dovetail modules; easy drone swap in orbit.
   
4. Vacuum Impregnation → Kevlar mesh flooded with STF; PCM & resin capsules mixed just before cure.
   
5. TZM Core Printing → e-beam PBF prints corrugated TZM blanks (100 µm layers).
   
6. Diffusion Bonding → Hot vacuum press fuses Ti-Zr-Mo faces to core; surface nitrided for wear & oxidation.
   
7. Final Integration → Modules are friction-stir-welded or EM-riveted in place; flash-coat edges sealed last.

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Performance Snapshot (TZM variant)

Areal Density	≈ 450 kg m⁻²
Beam Burn-Through	＞50 s at 35 MW, 5 cm spot
Kinetic Rod Defeat	5 km s⁻¹, 50 mm diameter
Micro-meteoroid Self-Seal	650 µm at 10 km s⁻¹
Primary Hull γ-Shielding (10 MeV)	+60 % vs current armour
Service Life (Tile Overhaul)	25 years

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Logistics & Sourcing

• Tungsten & Titanium – Recommend IMG: Dounby Station (Orkney) for W and Madeira (O-48) for Ti ore; avoids Bretonian tariffs.
• Molybdenum – Zurich system; if GMS willing to divert monthly loads to Livadia.
• Zirconium – Extractable from toxic-waste already stockpiled at Livadia/Athens.
• Iridium – Internal production, no external dependency.

— Donogan, out.