Home > categories > Minerals & Metallurgy > Steel Coils > What type of steel is most bullet resistant?
Question:

What type of steel is most bullet resistant?

What is the most common bullet resistant steel that is used, can certain bullets just not be stopped, also what type of glass is bullet resistant or is that special made.

Answer:

any amount of steel, you can find a bullet or cannon big enough to go through it. The WWII battleships had 12 inches of steel, but a torpedo would still put a hole in that. Any bullet, on the other hand, and you can find a thick enough steel to stop it. It's just that the steel may be too heavy to be useful. .
The trauma plates in most vests are made from titanium steel. But the real issue is how thick a plate of a particular material must be to soak up the kinetic energy of a particular bullet. Certain bullets are a lot easier to stop than others. But, again, it's all about the bullet mass and velocity. Bulletproof glass is usually several layers of glass bonded together with a clear plastic film and it's generally special made. Doug
If you want to stop a bullet with steel, you need strength, ductility, thickness, or some combination of these. The higher the strength, the greater the force the steel can withstand before it breaks. The higher the ductility, the more the steel can deform before it breaks. Unfortunately, when you increase the strength, the ductility usually goes down. That's why you may need substantial thickness. 1 centimeter of precipitation-hardened stainless steel (15-5 or 17-4, for example) is probably enough to stop most handgun bullets.

Share to: