SECURE steels offer protection against all kinds of firearms. ThyssenKrupp Stahl supplies steels of up to 600 Brinell (HB) hardness for various ballistic protection classes.

Optimal ballistic protection

In motor vehicles, for example, steel provides optimal ballistic protection and security for occupants. ThyssenKrupp Stahl markets steels under the SECURE brand name for civilian protection worldwide. SECURE steels are used both for passenger cars and for heavy state limousines in the highest protection class. These grades are similarly employed in the kind of off-road vehicles used by the police, UN peace missions and in armored security vans. But ThyssenKrupp Stahl can also offer SECURE-based solutions for buildings (facades, protective walls), cash dispensers and safes as well for the aircraft cockpit security solutions currently the subject of much debate.

The difference lies in the ballistic properties

When designing ballistic protection into automobiles it is important to know the kind of threat which is expected and to have a definition of the ballistic parameters. The hardness and thickness of the armor steels are selected on this basis. Resistance to bullets is defined in the European standard DIN EN 1522, which is subdivided into several resistance classes. These classes are defined by the ballistic parameters, including firearm and ammunition type, caliber, shooting distance and projectile speed.

For example, class B4 relates to threat from Magnum 44 heavy-caliber revolvers. Three millimeter thick steel of grade SECURE 500 provides adequate bullet resistance in this case. The higher resistance classes B5, B6 and B7 must additionally provide protection against attack from firearms of differing caliber using a variety of different ammunitions. The new SECURE 600 steel grade was developed especially to meet the requirements of the highest resistance classes B5, B6 and B7. This grade offers the same protection as SECURE 500 with significantly lower thickness, thus enabling the weight of armored vehicles to be reduced.

The most recent development is SECURE 200, which has properties specifically designed for safe construction.

SECURE - high hardness and close thickness tolerances

SECURE steel grades get their high hardness and excellent ballistic properties from their characteristic carbon, chromium, molybdenum and nickel alloying elements. Hardness is imparted by special water or oil quenching techniques. ThyssenKrupp Stahl offers a variety of grades of different hardness for the various protection classes. Today`s standard grade is SECURE 500. Despite its hardness of up to 500 Brinell (HB), this material is cold formable and weldable.

On specific customer request, ThyssenKrupp Stahl supplies these armor steels from hot strip production to thickness tolerances as close as 0.4 millimeters, allowing designers to optimize vehicle weight while providing optimal ballistic protection. Flatness is also a key requirement, so ThyssenKrupp Stahl guarantees maximum flatness variances of three millimeters per meter of length for all plate thicknesses.

For more information:
ThyssenKrupp Stahl AG
Dietmar Stamm, Public Relations
Tel: +49 (0)203-52-2 62 67
Fax: +49 (0)203-52-2 57 07
E-mail: stamm@tks.thyssenkrupp.com