I can upgrade the shelter-Chapter 664 - 562 Corrosion-Resistant Materials

The most direct method to resist the high-temperature corrosion vesicles of alien organisms is to upgrade the outer armor materials.

Speaking of corrosion-resistant materials, the first thing Chen Xin thinks of is ceramics and ceramic armor.

Ceramics being resistant to corrosion is common knowledge to many people.

Before Chen Xin became a web novelist, he worked in the chemical industry, where dealing with various corrosive substances was quite normal.

Among these, components or linings made of ceramics, plastics, or other corrosion-resistant materials are the most direct way to counter the corrosion of metal materials during use by various chemicals.

Plastic being corrosion-resistant might overturn many people's perceptions, but in fact, such plastics exist and are widely used in the chemical industry.

However, this type of plastic is clearly unsuitable for making armor.

After all, while corrosion-resistant plastics are corrosion-resistant, their strength and hardness are not high enough. Although it's not to the point where you can pierce it with a small knife, it is still far from meeting the standards to be used as armor.

As for whether the strength of corrosion-resistant plastics can be enhanced to reach the hardness of tank armor, naturally it can be done, but the cost and time investment for research and development make it an impractical venture, which also fails to meet current battlefield needs.

In such situations, it's not about achieving perfection in the laboratory, but about bringing out usable solutions to meet battlefield needs, as follow-up improvements can be made gradually.

This is also why, when looking back at the military equipment from World War II, the early models were filled with experimental features, while the later produced equipment showed more optimized design and better adaptation to the battlefield changes.

So rather than figuring out how to enhance plastic's performance, it would be more practical to think of other methods.

In fact, modern tank armor is no longer made of a single material. The composite armor used in modern tanks is achieved by layering materials with different properties to combine the benefits of multiple materials, resulting in a single, thin layer of armor equivalent to the effect of the past's thick homogeneous armor.

Therefore, Chen Xin thinks that the simplest and most effective way to improve the outer armor of tanks and Titans is to use composite armor.

All he needs to do is develop a new type of composite armor.

However, this is not an easy task.

Besides plastics, there are other corrosion-resistant materials like ceramics, and ceramic composite armor has long been applied in the military field.

But on the battlefield, even tanks equipped with ceramic composite armor find it difficult to resist the high-temperature corrosion vesicles of alien organisms.

The main reason is that ceramic composite armor was designed to block armor-piercing bullets, not to resist corrosion.

Due to the different principles used in firing the ceramic layer and its inherent thickness, when the high-hardness alloy steel on the surface of the armor is corroded, the ceramic layer filled with glass fiber reinforced resin balls cannot resist the erosion of high-temperature corrosive liquid, which leads to the underlying high-toughness alloy steel also getting penetrated.

Therefore, to resist the attack of alien organisms' corrosion vesicles, the corrosive liquid must be isolated at the outermost layer.

"Using a corrosion-resistant plastic coating on the outermost layer, supported by a high-hardness ceramic interlayer in the middle, and the innermost layer still using high-toughness alloy steel—do you think this design can withstand the corrosive vesicle attacks of alien organisms?" In the makeshift laboratory, while drawing a schematic on the whiteboard, Chen Xin questioned other researchers in the lab.

A few researchers frowned as they listened to Chen Xin's explanation, continually shaking their heads.

"The concept is great, but with plastic, even if the hardness is very high, it's hard to compare with the performance of steel. Moreover, even if the performance meets the requirements, under current circumstances, the production cost would be high!" One researcher pointed out the potential drawbacks, clearly considering from a practical standpoint.

At this point, another researcher chimed in: "Besides, even if we develop new armor, we'd have to replace all currently equipped military tanks, which would require massive investment. Even if the country agrees with the plan, refitting all tanks with new armor would also require a lot of time."

"As for refitting, we could always use armor plates for additional protection. Although the effect might be slightly weaker, it could still offer some defensive effectiveness. Right now, the key issue is how to design new armor," added yet another researcher to the discussion, offering his perspective: "In essence, your design involves creating a corrosion-isolating layer on the existing armor surface to shield against the corrosive vesicles thrown by alien organisms. If that's the case, couldn't we achieve similar results by applying a specialized protective coating on the surface of existing tank armor?"

"Protective coating? Coating?" As Chen Xin understood the researcher's point, it dawned on him.

This indeed seemed more practical than replacing with new armor, involving lower costs, lesser investment, and faster adaptation to battlefield requirements.

Furthermore, developing a new type of coating and applying it on tanks is simpler than developing a new type of armor and completely refitting tanks.

"If that's the case, let's shift our research direction towards creating protective coatings!" Chen Xin swiftly adjusted his strategy and determined a new research direction, though he emphasized: "Even as we develop new protective coatings, developing new protective armor mustn't fall behind. We should develop a new type of material or armor capable of resisting alien attacks, which can serve as a technological reserve and be applied to the next generation of Titans."

Chen Xin's words made perfect sense. Flame Country's defense industry has always followed a development strategy: develop one generation, reserve one generation, and use one generation.

The new coatings can be immediately applied on the battlefield, while the new armor serves as a technological reserve for future equipment.

However, this assumption is inevitably based on the war being prolonged, given that only alien organisms use corrosive liquid as a form of attack.

In normal human warfare, the focus would still be on penetration rather than corrosion.

Therefore, both anti-corrosion coatings and corrosion-resistant armor are in response to alien organisms; if aliens were eliminated quickly, these items would become obsolete.

"Do you think this war will last a long time, Sir?" a researcher voiced his concern.