Dillinger: Top marks for DIFENDER security steels

6 May 2022


Figure 1: Dillinger has supplied the security industry with special steels that meet maximum standards for safety for decades.
Figure 1: Dillinger has supplied the security industry with special steels that meet maximum standards for safety for decades.

Figure 2: Dillinger is known around the world for reliable production of large thick plates.
Figure 2: Dillinger is known around the world for reliable production of large thick plates.

The increasingly unstable geopolitical security situation and the rising number of deployments by NATO partners also, simultaneously, enlarge demand for ballistically protected vehicles and structures. Highly specific steel solutions are needed for mission-orientated protection of military personnel against a whole range of threats. Dillinger's broad portfolio of grades of DIFENDER security steels assures maximum safety for example for vehicles and buildings.

Figure 3: Apparatus for a high dynamics tensile test at a strain rate of 5 m/s for simulation of the bullet resistance of DIFENDER welding specimens.
Figure 3: Apparatus for a high dynamics tensile test at a strain rate of 5 m/s for simulation of the bullet resistance of DIFENDER welding specimens.

Figure 4: Butt welded specimens of DIFENDER security steel were submitted to a comparative test at the high strain rate of 5 m/s.
Figure 4: Butt welded specimens of DIFENDER security steel were submitted to a comparative test at the high strain rate of 5 m/s.

Whether in conflict prevention, crisis management or military engagements: the operational environment of missions confronts multinational armed forces and the systems they use with complex challenges. The precondition for successful mission accomplishment is the uncompromising protection of personnel and systems against every one of a diverse range of threat scenarios. The armed forces rely in this situation on the leading competence of European system suppliers and on the performance of the protective-equipment systems developed by them. System designers, however, are repeatedly faced with new challenges, in view of increasing demands generated by ever-changing threat situations.

Figure 5: Compared to relevant competing products, the load extension diagram for the high dynamics tensile test demonstrates the superiority of the DIFENDER 450 welding specimen for elongation at fracture and energy absorption capacity.
Figure 5: Compared to relevant competing products, the load extension diagram for the high dynamics tensile test demonstrates the superiority of the DIFENDER 450 welding specimen for elongation at fracture and energy absorption capacity.

Dillinger, Europe's leading producer of heavy plate, domiciled in Dillingen, in Germany's Saarland, has for decades supplied the security industry with special steels that meet the ultra-demanding standards for the safety and security of civilian vehicles and buildings. Just on ten years ago, Dillinger also began systematic supply to the armaments industry. This new departure was accompanied by the development of the extensive range of DIFENDER security steels. The methodical use of ultra-modern AI applications and highly sophisticated production processes enabled Dillinger to pursue energetically the development of new and refinement of existing products. Profound knowledge incorporated in metallurgical models and the unique depth of know-how resulting from more than three centuries of organically grown production competence in heavy plates proved to be a guarantee of success. High-strength DIFENDER security steels are now among the safest and most dependable available on the market, and also answer changing market needs and threats. Both the German Army (the "Bundeswehr") and NATO members put their trust in the outstanding protective properties of alloyed quenched and tempered (Q+T) steels for example in their armoured military vehicles and buildings.

High hardness paired with outstanding range of formats and dimensions

Figure 6: Apparatus for a biaxial drop test with a load of 5.5 t for simulation of blast wave impact on butt welded specimens of DIFENDER security steels.
Figure 6: Apparatus for a biaxial drop test with a load of 5.5 t for simulation of blast wave impact on butt welded specimens of DIFENDER security steels.

Figure 7: Butt welded specimens of DIFENDER security steel were tested in a biaxial drop test.
Figure 7: Butt welded specimens of DIFENDER security steel were tested in a biaxial drop test.???????

DIFENDER combines special resistance to ballistic attack, exposure to blast and the effects of fragmentation with high hardness, mechanical strength, toughness and low weight. The product family of these special steels currently features the high-strength grades DIFENDER 400, 450, 500 and, the newest member, DIFENDER 600. In addition, DIFENDER 250, 300, 350, 550 and 650 are undergoing development. Also literally outstanding are, inter alia, the available dimensions of these security steels, with which Dillinger, once again, justifies its global reputation for reliable production of large and thick plates. The largest possible plate dimensions are selected, in particular, for wheeled and tracked military vehicles to assure optimum design for floor armour to protect against mines. Dillinger security steels are available from 6 millimetres thickness in widths of up to 2.5 metres and lengths of up to 8.0 metres as standard products - and, in special cases, even wider and longer. Dillinger supplies its DIFENDER 400, 450 and 500 steels in widths of 3.0 metres with simultaneous meeting of the most stringent flatness requirements, for example. Tailor-made special developments in even greater widths open up for designers previously unknown potential for optimisation of system components. DIFENDER 500 is the most frequently used and most frequently evaluated of Dillinger's security steels and is available on the market up to the unparalleled thickness of 150 millimetres. DIFENDER 500 in a thickness of 13.5 millimetres is qualified by both customers and the relevant authorities for use in ballistically protected buildings in fixed and mobile military facilities, for example. The largest possible plate width - with no welds - is also a vital safety provision for the storey-height armouring of such infrastructural features. In the required comparative tests for bullet resistance, DIFENDER 500 scored the best result with the thinnest minimum thickness. DIFENDER security steels also contribute to the high level of crew protection of for example wheeled armoured personnel carrier (APC). In DIFENDER 600, Dillinger supplies an ultra-high-trength alloyed quenched and tempered steel with uncompromising ballistic specifications. In the form of adaptive composite armour, it performs a projectile-breaking function. This steel can be supplied from a thickness of 6 millimetres in widths of up to 2.5 metres - naturally with assured adherence to maximum flatness standards.

Top-of-the-class workability properties

Figure 8: The load time diagram of the high dynamics biaxial drop test indicates significantly higher mechanical strength properties for the DIFENDER 500 welding specimens compared to competing products.
Figure 8: The load time diagram of the high dynamics biaxial drop test indicates significantly higher mechanical strength properties for the DIFENDER 500 welding specimens compared to competing products.???????

All DIFENDER security steels are notable for special ballistic resistance properties. In many cases, they can be selected and demonstrably used several tenths of a millimetre thinner than the other relevant products on the market, with no sacrifices in hardness and ballistic-protection performance. This significantly thinner minimum thickness permits weight-optimised design of all-round protected and armoured vehicles, improving mobility in rough and enemy-occupied terrain and reducing fuel consumption. This lower weight per unit of area for protection solutions is combined in DIFENDER with ultra-tight construction tolerances. For this reason, designers and manufacturers are with certainty on the safe side with the workability properties of these security steels: series of tests performed by independent laboratories confirm DIFENDER steels' excellent property data for cutting, bending and welding operations. These steels permit minimum radii for cold bending that are among the best on the market. And, as far as weldability is concerned, DIFENDER steel is, in fact, the best in its class. This combination of enhanced hardness for improved ballistic protection with best data for the two most important working processes of bending and welding expands the limits of what has up to now been possible for designers. This is also documented by a large range of approvals: DIFENDER security steels conform to the German Army TL 2350-000 specifications for armoured steel. In addition, they have also been validated under relevant standards such as EN 1522 / 1523, VPAM / PM 2007, STANAG 4569 AEP 55 and NF A 36800-2 / NF A 36800-3 and have achieved numerous client, project and authority approvals.

Security Made in Germany

Figure 9: For cold bending, DIFENDER security steels allow minimum radii that rank with the best on the market
Figure 9: For cold bending, DIFENDER security steels allow minimum radii that rank with the best on the market???????

Figure 10: DIFENDER security steels are among the safest and most dependable on the market and are the response to changing market needs and evolving threats.
Figure 10: DIFENDER security steels are among the safest and most dependable on the market and are the response to changing market needs and evolving threats.???????

With two qualified production locations, Dillinger also assures a further decisive plus in safety for strategic purchasers: more capacity and thus greater flexibility mean even more assuredness of supply. The high availability of DIFENDER security steels assures access to top-performance steel solutions of a constant optimum quality - Made in Germany.

AG der Dillinger Hüttenwerke

Figure 11: Both the German Army and the member nations of NATO put their trust in the outstanding protective properties of DIFENDER alloyed quenched and tempered steels in their armoured vehicles and armour protected buildings.
Figure 11: Both the German Army and the member nations of NATO put their trust in the outstanding protective properties of DIFENDER alloyed quenched and tempered steels in their armoured vehicles and armour protected buildings.???????

Dillinger has been living out its unique passion for steel for more than 330 years. A genuinely heavyweight success product remains the driving force for Dillinger even now: Steel, from the ore right up to the tailor-made heavy plate and ready-to-install component. A broad range of experience, pronounced emphasis on Research & Development, continuous investment and a networked capability for innovation make this heavy-plate producer the global quality and technology leader, with outstanding steel grades, most of which have been developed within the last ten years. With these high-performance materials for applications which demand extreme endurance under the most adverse conditions, the Structural Steel, Mechanical Engineering, Offshore, Offshore Power, Linepipe, Earthmoving Machinery, Mining and Pressure-Vessel Engineering divisions are the preferred partners for the best in their industries.



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