Durasheet
Durasheet is a highly resistant composite material made of several interwoven layers of polymer, metal and ceramic. Highly resistant to tears and punctures, Durasheet uses a high strength steel alloy fiber network (usually Flexite and one or two other alloys depending on its intended use) within a semi-flexible ballistic polymer matrix, often the supple Armorplast II-D. The finished product is approximately one millimeter thick and can be formed into almost any shape.[1]
When used as armor several Durasheets are necessary along with layers of other materials to form a complete defense against many types of attacks. The outermost layer of armor, typically half a millimeter thick and using an anti-corrosive metal alloy or ceramic glazing, is designed to shatter or vaporize upon impact and partially absorb part of the attack. The second layer is a rigid ceramic designed to cause projectiles to shatter or tumble and so loose energy. The third is a polymer foam which both absorbs projectiles and vaporizes to diffuse energy blasts, followed by a layer of Durasheet itself as a backstop. Depending on the intended thickness of the armor plate the layers of polymer and Durasheet will repeat in an alternating fashion as necessary. The final layer is an anti-spalling ballistic polymer to catch any fragments.[1]
The final product provides some of the best protection available in the 62nd century. A given width of Durasheet armor is five times as resistant to armor penetration while weighing a hundredth of the weight of even the best molecular armor steel.[2]
Notes
A comparison of the defensive properties of Heavy Gear armor to real-world armor can be derived based on a given unit's Armor Rating, which represents the thickness and angle of its armor plating plus the general resistance of its internal components to damage. Taking the square of a unit's Armor Rating translates very roughly into its equivalent in millimeters of rolled homogenous armor and vice versa. For example, a T-72 tank is considered to have an Armor Rating of 16, the same as a Jaguar Heavy Gear.[3]