Selective laser melting (SLM) is an additive technology that allows for the production of precisely designed complex structures for energy absorbing applications from a wide range of metallic materials. Geometrical imperfections of the SLM fabricated lattice structures, which form one of the many thin struts, can lead to a great difference in prediction of their behavior. This article deals with the prediction of lattice structure mechanical properties under dynamic loading using finite element method (FEA) with inclusion of geometrical imperfections of the SLM process. Such properties are necessary to know especially for the application of SLM fabricated lattice structures in automotive or aerospace industries. Four types of specimens from AlSi10Mg alloy powder material were manufactured using SLM for quasi-static mechanical testing and determination of lattice structure mechanical properties for the FEA material model, for optical measurement of geometrical accuracy, and for low-velocity impact testing using the impact tester with a flat indenter. Geometries of struts with elliptical and circular cross-sections were identified and tested using FEA. The results showed that, in the case of elliptical cross-section, a significantly better match was found (2% error in the Fmax) with the low-velocity impact experiments during the whole deformation process compared to the circular cross-section. The FEA numerical model will be used for future testing of geometry changes and its effect on mechanical properties.

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The article deals with an alteration of mechanical properties of plasma nitrided steel. Experimental work was focused on evaluation of influence of plasma nitriding process on the notch toughness of steel. Experiments were realized on V-notch samples of size 10x10x55 mm (according to ISO 148-1 standard) from 14NiCr14 steel. The 14NiCr14 steel was heat treated prior plasma nitriding. The heat treatment consisted of hardening at 850 °C and tempering on elimination of internal stress at 200 °C. Heat treated experimental samples were plasma nitrided at 450 °C, 500 °C and 550 °C. The notch toughness tests of steel were carried out using the instrumental Charpy hammer at test temperatures-40 °C, +21 °C and +70 °C. The notch toughness of plasma nitrided samples achieved nearly identical values as heat treated samples thus plasma nitriding did not reduce the values of notch toughness. The increase in temperature of the plasma nitriding process even led to achievement of higher values of notch toughness compared with heat treatment specimens namely at all test temperatures.

Different types of composite materials with potential application in ballistic protection of static objects are discussed and compared in present study. The studied solutions include: 1) the concretes with or without reinforcement, 2) the metallic boxes with internal gap filled with different materials and 3) the ceramics-metallic composite armours. Besides the ballistic resistance, the areal weight and the price are taken into account. The weight of solutions is important in case of static objects mainly from logistic point of view. The proposals of ballistic compositions presented in the study can facilitate the choice of solutions according to specific requests.

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