Executive Summary
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.
Macro-architecture
Code:
VACUUM / THREAT DIRECTION
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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
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SHIP INTERNAL
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.]
Manufacturing Process (all facilities available at Livadia & Kadesh)
Powder-bed fusion of Ir alloys → electron-beam PBF builds the Ir-W lattice at 100 µm layers (retool for gyroid).
CVD Flash-Coat → IrCl₄ precursor cracks on the hot lattice, growing a 70 µm Ir-C layer.
Tile Assembly → Lattice + NxRA + gel mesh are HIP-pressed into 1 m × 1 m dovetail modules; easy drone swap in orbit.
Vacuum Impregnation → Kevlar mesh flooded with STF; PCM & resin capsules mixed just before cure.
Diffusion Bonding → Hot vacuum press fuses Ti-Zr-Mo faces to core; surface nitrided for wear & oxidation.
Final Integration → Modules are friction-stir-welded or EM-riveted in place; flash-coat edges sealed last.
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
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.
