Tanksharp
Vehicle Design System
by Ryan Crierie
Current Release (0.7.1) (as of 15 April 2009)
1. Introduction
Thank you for downloading and trying out my rough attempt to create something very similar to James Ross-Gowan and Ian Ross-Gowan's Springsharp, but for tanks instead of warships. Obviously, for a first version, it is going to be crude, but hopefully it can be used as a base for something by people who are more technically inclined and have more information than I can find.
Tanksharp was created using Open Office.
I realize that the current model, even though it is much improved over the first releases, is still very much incomplete, as it does not:
Allow Curved Armor (such as Cast RHA Gun Mantlets).
Much of my data comes from several sources:
Jane's
Armour Upgrades 1989-1990
Jane's Armour Upgrades 1991-1992
Jane's
Armour and Artillery Upgrades 1995-1996
Jane's NBC Systems
1989-1990
www.tank-net.org
Paul
Lakowski's Armor
Technology primer.
Alliant
Tech System (ATK)'s page on their AFV armament options here
The
internet. God Bless It.
Special thanks to:
Michael Wong and the other members of Star Destroyer.net for putting up with my stupid geometry questions.
Ye Di Wen for putting up with my stupid physics related question and not instituting exterminatus upon me for my gross misuse of science and mathematics.
2. Changelog
0.1 - Initial release of Tanksharp (29 May 2007)
0.2 - Reworked Cannon/Gun section to improve ammunition section for more realism and to allow caseless/telescoped/bagged and liquid propellant/railgun ammo. Reworked Frontal Hull Armor to now weight the average according to how big each plate is; e.g. if your upper front hull plate has an area of 2m2, it will get counted more in the averaging calculations than a lower front hull plate of 1m2. Doubled the number of layers available for frontal hull and turret armor to 8 layers, to help simulate the more exotic layerings you might find. Sheets now have the changeable cells color coded in green for easier use.
0.3 - Revised resistance specs according to new information from Bojan at Tank-Net; added specs for perforated armor in the manual, and clarified some resistance specifications.
0.4 - Beta version; produced with no manual, due to large number of changes made; such as working out the design sheet for wheeled vehicles.
0.5 - Added data for amphibious vehicles, allowing either traditional displacement hulls (M113, LVTP7) or planing hulls (EFV).
0.6 - Major overhaul; revised the model to allow for sloping of every angle. All sections of armor now have a maximum of eight layers, allowing better and more complex armor schemes. Revised the gun designing formulas to take into account recoil from the weapons. Major re-write of the manual to take into account all the changes since v0.3
3. What do we want the tank to do? (And setting limits)
First, before we start playing around with the spreadsheet, we need to figure out what we want this vehicle to do, and what our limitations as a designer are.
Do we have a cost limitation?
Do we have a weight limitation?
Do we have a minimal standard for protection we have to meet?
Do we need to have a large number of vehicle components standardized across multiple vehicles?
Do we have a combination of several factors that all must be met?
It is quite easy to make a vehicle with unlimited funding and unlimited weight limits; it is not so when you are given limitations due to fiscal or policy reasons (e.g. the weight of the vehicle has to be at or under 35 tons, because that is the maximum weight that can be dealt with by our existing wreckers in service with our armored force; and no, we're not buying a new set of wreckers for you.)
Also, most of the time as a designer, you will not be allowed to have the luxury of having a transmission, engine, and suspension system custom designed for your vehicle alone; either for economic reasons, or for logistics reasons (we have standardized all of our force on such and such transmissions for efficiency).
Giving yourself limitations makes for a much more interesting design process, which teaches you about how vehicles are all trade-offs between various capabilities.
4. Physical Limitations of Manned Vehicles
If your vehicle design is manned; the following dimensions cited below are vitally important.
If you want to have a vehicle design which allows for a reclining driver's position, then your hull height must be at least 114 centimeters + floor hull thickness + top hull thickness; plus a few extra inches for head room and moving around. Otherwise, your driver won't even have any room at all to even lie down!
If you want to have row(s) of infantrymen in the back sitting down (as in the diagram below), you must have at least the following dimensions set aside:
US
Marine Corps LVTP-7/AAAV-7 Seating Diagram
171 cm + floor thickness + roof thickness hull height
68 cm of length for each soldier in a row.
112-114 cm of width for each row of soldiers.
5. Hull Design Explained
In order to make using the spreadsheet easier for the user, any field that is meant to be changed by the user in the spreadsheet will be in the following format:
|
Changeable Field |
|
|
|
|
Vehicle Hull Length |
Length of the vehicle's hull. |
|
Vehicle Hull Width |
Width of the vehicle's hull, not it's overall length (which increases due to track skirts and sponsons) |
|
Vehicle Hull Height |
Height of the vehicle's hull from it's roof to top. |
|
Vehicle Ground Clearance |
Clearance between the ground and the vehicle. |
|
Hull Split Height At |
The height that the glacis elbow between the upper and lower plates is at. Fifty Percent means that it will be at half of the Vehicle Hull Height. |
|
Overall Slope |
Slope in degrees from vertical of this section of the hull. |
|
Thickness (mm) |
Thickness of that layer of armor in millimeters. |
|
Density (g/cm3) |
Density of that layer's armor material in grams per cubic centimeter. |
|
KE Efficiency |
Efficiency of this layer's armor material against kinetic threats (Armour Piercing Discarding Sabot Fin Stabilized). For example, 50mm of armor material with a KE Efficiency of 1.25 would have an effectiveness of 62.5mm of material. |
|
HEAT Efficiency |
Efficiency of this layer's armor material against chemical energy threats (High Explosive Anti-Tank). For example, 50mm of armor material with a HEAT Efficiency of 1.25 would have an effectiveness of 62.5mm of material. |
|
Modifier |
This is there to modify the total effectiveness of your armor layer against KE threats. For example, if you encase a ceramic material in soft steel, overall KE resistance rises by 1.12 (Lakowsi, Armor Basics, pg 10) |
A. Side Hull Armor
Unlike the other hull armor angles, this one has two extra layers of armor; Armored Skirt and Void Between Hull and Skirt to allow representation of side armor skirts and the mostly empty volume created by the width of either the track(s) or tire(s); as shown by this diagram:
Normally, the Void Layer should have the following properties:
|
Thickness (mm) |
Density (g/cm3) |
KE Efficiency |
HEAT Efficiency |
|
Length between hull and Armored Skirt |
0.0013 |
0 |
0.25 |
B. Crew and Ammunition Stowage
|
Number of Crew In Hull |
Number of Crew who have their stations in the hull. |
|
Number of Passengers In Hull |
Number of Passengers who are carried in the hull. |
NOTE: It is assumed that each crewman or passenger takes up 0.75 cubic meters of space; and requires 180 kilograms of mass for himself, and then another 180 kilograms of mass for seats, water, food, and various support systems, like vision blocks, etc.
LIGHT WEAPONS: This is how many light weapons that have their mounts in the hull or are carried on top of the hull in a pintle mount. If there is a bow mounted 7.62mm Machine Gun, then that would count as One (1) 7.62mm MG. See the Appendixes for a listing of weapon weights and volume used by the spreadsheet.
LIGHT WEAPONS STOWED AMMUNITION: This is how many rounds of ammunition are stowed within the hull itself for the above weapons. See the Appendixes for a listing of ammunition weights and volumes used by the spreadsheet.
HULL INTERNAL VOLUME LEFT FREE: How much space is available inside the vehicle in cubic meters after all the various doodads are factored in. As you might imagine, negative numbers mean that you can't possibly fit everything in; which means you will need to make some tradeoffs in what you want, or increase the vehicle size, while an absurdly low number means that the vehicle is very cramped, the crew can't move about easily, and is literally a death trap if a good solid penetration occurs with a decent calibre weapon.
6. Turret Design Explained
|
Turret Ring Diameter |
Diameter of Turret Ring in centimeters. |
|
Turret Width |
Width of Turret in Meters. |
|
Turret Height |
Height of Turret in Meters. |
|
Turret Length |
Length of Turret in Meters. |
|
Number of Crew In Turret |
How many crewmembers have their combat stations in the turret; if it is a two man turret like the M2 Bradley turret, this number is two (2). Unmanned turrets are naturally zero (0) |
Turret Slope and Armor Layering is handled the same as with the Hull Design sheet.
Light Weapons, Light Weapons Stowed Ammunition, and Cannon/Gun Type(s) One and Two are handled the same way as with the Hull Design sheet.
7. Add On Armors A and B Explained
These two pages are handled the same way hull and turret armor layering are on their respective sheets. They allow you to design add-on applique armor for your vehicle to increase it's resistance to various weapons.
8. Big Guns Explained
This is where you design and specify the number and types of large calibre weapons (that is, above heavy machine gun level) carried by your vehicle.
|
Number Carried |
How many of this kind of weapon are carried, and in what locations. If you have a turret that has a twin 20mm cannon mount in it, the turret cell would have a two (2) in it. |
|
Size of Weapon |
How big the shell fired by it is in millimeters. |
|
Calibre of Weapon |
How long the barrel is in calibers. Used for calculating overall weapon weight. |
|
Is this an automatic weapon: |
Either TRUE or FALSE. Used to calculate the breech weight of the weapon. |
|
Is this a Railgun: |
Either TRUE or FALSE. Used to calculate the weight of the overall weapons system, as well as ammunition. |
|
Barrel Material Density: |
How heavy the material used to make the gun barrel is. Affects overall weapon weight. Lighter is not always better. More barrel mass means it recoils slower; and needs less recoil absorption. |
|
Projectile Weight: |
How heavy the shell fired by this weapon is in kilograms. |
|
Projectile Muzzle Velocity: |
The speed at which the shell fired by this weapon leaves the muzzle. |
|
Length of Recoil: |
How far back the weapon recoils when fired. Typical automatic cannons recoil about 17 to 55mm, while tank guns' range is from 180 to 600mm. Increasing the length of recoil means a longer turret, but also means you can have a lighter recoil absorption system. |
|
Efficiency of Muzzle Brake: |
How efficient your muzzle brake is. Obviously 0% is no brake at all, while the best brakes today are around 25% |
|
Rounds Carried for Weapon: |
How many rounds are stowed for the weapon, and their location. |
|
Is this a Fixed Case Weapon? |
TRUE or FALSE. If your weapon fires a conventional metallic cartridge then TRUE. If however, it uses bagged propellant, or is a telescoped/caseless/railgun round, then enter FALSE. |
|
Is this a LP or Railgun weapon? |
TRUE or FALSE. |
|
Energy level of propellant |
Energy density of propellant in joules per gram. |
9. Miscellaneous Explained
|
Air Changes Per Hour |
How many times the collective overpressure Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical (NBC) system changes the air in the vehicle. 10-12 ACH is recommended as the standard. |
|
Mass Efficiency of NBC Unit |
How many liters a second your NBC unit can generate for each kilogram of weight. |
|
Volume Efficiency of NBC Unit |
How many liters a second your NBC unit can generate for each cubic meter of it's volume. |
|
Does it have advanced C3I systems? |
TRUE or FALSE. Determines if your unit has at least one (1) advanced digital C3I tracker system. Unit weight and dimensions are based off the British Quickfire Artillery Module; on the theory that while computers may get smaller, ruggedization will keep them the same size. |
|
Does each crewmember have one? |
TRUE or FALSE. Determines if each crewmember in your vehicle has his own personal digital C3I console. This is for future highly integrated vetronics systems available from 2010s onwards. |
|
Are All Vehicle Periscopes Thermal Sight Equipped? |
TRUE or FALSE. If FALSE, it is assumed each crewmember has 7 regular day periscopes at his position, each weighing 3.2 kilograms. If TRUE, it is assumed each crewmember has 7 thermal-equipped periscopes at his position, each weighing 12.73 kilograms. |
|
Number of CITVs on vehicles: |
Number of independent thermal viewers on vehicles, conceptually similar to the M1A2's Commander's Independent Thermal Viewer; each one is assumed to weigh 180 kilograms. |
10. Engine Explained
|
Weight of Vehicle Desired |
How much you expect your vehicle to weigh combat loaded in metric tons. |
|
HP/Ton Ratio Desired |
What is the Horsepower/Ton Ratio you want from your vehicle? |
|
Minimum Engine Output Needed |
Calculates the horsepower you need to achieve the HP/Ton Ratio desired above based on your expected vehicle combat weight. |
|
Engine Output Desired |
How much power you want your engine to output |
|
Engine Power/Weight Ratio |
How weight efficient your engine is. (See Appendixes for lists of ratios of popular engine types) |
|
Engine Power/Volume Ratio |
How volume efficient your engine is. (See Appendixes for lists of ratios of popular engine types) |
|
Specific Fuel Consumption |
How fast your engine drinks fuel in grams per kilowatt produced per hour. |
|
Gallons of Fuel |
How many gallons of fuel your vehicle carries. |
|
Fuel Density |
Density of your fuel. (See Appendixes for lists) |
|
Fuel Volume (kg/m3) |
Volume of your fuel. (See Appendixes for lists) |
|
APU Power Output |
How many kW you want your Auxilary Power Unit (APU) to output. |
|
APU Power/Weight Ratio |
How weight efficient your APU is.(See Appendixes for lists of ratios) |
|
APU Power/Volume Ratio |
How volume efficient your APU is is.(See Appendixes for lists of ratios) |
The APU is used when vehicles are in stationary positions to save fuel by turning off their main powerplants and using the much more efficient APU for electrical power to drive the turret motors, gunnery computer, communications systems, and thermal sights.
|
Energy Storage Desired |
How many megajoules (MJ) you need to store in the capacitor for electromagnetic weapons and other future-tech goodies. |
|
Capacitor Energy Density |
The mass efficiency of your capacitor design. |
Normally, you can leave the capacitor fields blank, because the only use for it is in near-future 20xx vehicles armed with electromagnetic guns, or "railguns", which require a much higher energy output to fire than even a gas turbine can supply.
|
Transmission Mass Ratio |
How efficient your transmission is masswise in handling the output from an engine. |
|
Minimum Transmission Weight Needed |
How heavy your transmission has to be at the minimum to handle the engine output you want. |
|
Manual Transmission Weight Input |
How heavy do you want your transmission to be? |
|
Maximum Vehicle Weight |
How much vehicle weight your transmission can handle before it burns out or becomes a maintenance nightmare. |
|
WATER PLANING |
|
|
Is this a Water Planing Vehicle? |
TRUE or FALSE. If your vehicle employs a water planing system for high speed amphibious operations, enter TRUE. |
|
Thickness of Water Plane |
Thickness of your water plane in millimeters. |
|
Density of Water Plane |
Density of your water plane's material in g/cm3. |
|
KE Efficiency of Plane Plate |
Your water plane's material's thickness efficiency versus KE rounds. |
|
HEAT Efficiency of Plane Plate |
Your water plane's material's thickness efficiency versus HEAT rounds. |
|
Percent of Engine Power that can be used |
Percentage of your engine's horsepower you can divert to waterjets or propellors during amphibious operation. |
|
Transmission Mass Ratio |
Transmission Mass Ratio of whatever system you are using to transfer energy from the engine to the water propulsion system. |
10. Drivetrain Explained
|
Tracked Locomotion |
|
|
Maximum Vehicle Weight Envisioned |
The maximum possible weight of your vehicle combat loaded with any future or planned applique armor packages. |
|
Suspension Ratio |
Vehicle weight supported per kilogram of suspension. |
|
Road Wheel Material Density |
Density of the material that your road wheels are made up of. Steel and Aluminum are popular. |
|
Rows of Road Wheels |
How many rows of road wheels per track. Light vehicles can get away with one row, but heavy vehicles need two rows. |
|
Ground Pressure Desired |
The ground pressure you want for your vehicle in pounds per square inch |
|
Ground Track Area Needed |
How much area in cubic centimeters your track must have in ground track area in order to achive the desired ground pressure. |
|
Track Width |
Track Width in millimeters that your vehicle has. |
|
Track Weight |
Weight of your track type in kilograms per cubic meter. |
|
Track Area Modifier |
See List to Right of Spreadsheet to pick the one appropriate for your track. |
|
Wheeled Locomotion |
|
|
Maximum Vehicle Weight Envisioned |
The maximum possible weight of your vehicle combat loaded with any future or planned applique armor packages. |
|
Suspension Ratio |
Vehicle weight supported per kilogram of suspension. |
|
Vehicle Combat Weight |
What you expect your vehicle's combat weight to be in metric tons. |
|
Axle Weight |
How much each axle weighs in kilograms |
|
Max Tire Supportable Weight (Fully Infl.) |
How much weight in kilograms each tire can support when fully inflated to it's maximum pressure. |
|
Max Tire Supportable Weight (Partially Infl.) |
How much weight in kilograms each tire can support when inflated to the optimal reduced pressure for maximum ground contact area |
|
Tire Overall Diameter |
Overall Diameter of the tire in millimeters |
|
Tire Overall Width |
Overall Tire width in millimeters. |
|
Tire Density |
Density of the tire in grams per cm3. |
|
Run Flat Insert Weight |
How much each run flat insert in each tire weighs in kilograms. Place a zero (0) if your vehicle does not have run flats. |
|
Minimum Vehicle Hull Height needed |
Minimum Hull Height of your vehicle needed in order to keep the tires in optimal position; e.g. in wheel wells. |
|
Minimum Axles Needed |
The minimum number of axles your vehicle will need in order to actually support it's own weight. |
|
Minimum Tires Needed (Fully Inflated) |
The minimum number of tires your vehicle will need to support it's own weight when all the tires are fully inflated to maximum pressure. |
|
Minimum Tires Needed (Partially Inflated) |
The minimum number of tires your vehicle will need to support it's own weight when all the tires are partially inflated for maximum ground contact area. |
|
Number of Axles |
How many axles your vehicle has. |
9. Print Sheet Explained
This takes all the information we've put in on the various pages and integrates it into a very easy cohesive page which can then be printed out and perused at our leisure.
On it, you can see how the various protection levels affect your vehicles' ground pressure, top speed, and propulsive systems.
At the bottom is a listing of your protection levels, which I believe you can figure out.
Appendixes
|
Armor Types |
|||||
|
Armor Type |
Density |
TE |
TE |
Cost |
Notes |
|
Mild Steel |
7.86 |
0.8 |
Unknown |
Unknown |
no limitations |
|
Rolled RHA |
7.86 |
1 |
1 |
Unknown |
no limitations |
|
Cast RHA |
7.86 |
0.91 |
Unknown |
Unknown |
no limitations |
|
SHS or HY-120 Steels |
7.86 |
1.23 |
Unknown |
Unknown |
max thickness of several cm |
|
Perforated RHA Plate |
5.1 |
0.7 |
Unknown |
Unknown |
Unknown |
|
Aluminum 5xxx Series |
2.66 |
0.6 |
Unknown |
Unknown |
resists corrosion |
|
Perforated Aluminum 5xxx Series Plate |
1.72 |
0.42 |
Unknown |
Unknown |
Unknown |
|
Ti-6Al-4V |
4.50 |
0.85 |
Unknown |
Unknown |
Unknown |
|
Perforated Ti-6Al-4V Plate |
2.92 |
0.59 |
Unknown |
Unknown |
Unknown |
|
Honeycombed Aluminum |
2.75? |
0.7 |
Unknown |
Unknown |
Unknown |
|
Water |
1 |
0.15 |
0.45 |
Unknown |
Unknown |
|
Steltexolite (Fiberglass type armor) |
1.76 |
0.5 |
1.1 |
Unknown |
Unknown |
|
Alumina based Ceramics |
3.58 |
0.9 |
2 |
Unknown |
Unknown |
|
Rubber Based Non Explosive Reactive Armor |
8.75 |
0.44 |
0.34 |
Unknown |
Must Be Thick |
|
Chobham |
2.22 |
0.61 |
1.07 |
Unknown |
Must Be Thick |
|
Air |
0.0013 |
0 |
0.25 |
FREE |
Found in Void Spaces |
|
90s French Explosive Reactive Armor |
2.96 |
0.25 |
2.67 |
Unknown |
Must be 75mm thick |
|
Engine Design Table |
|||
|
Engine Type |
kilograms
per kilowatt (kg/kw) |
Kilowatts
per cubic meter (kW/m3) |
Fuel
Consumption (grams per kWH) |
|
German MB 873
Ka 501 Diesel |
1.07 |
298.6 |
220 |
|
Ukrainian
GTD-1250 Gas Turbine |
1.13 |
674.28 |
300? |
|
PEM Fuel Cell (1997) |
2.81 |
212.77 |
unknown |
|
1960s Civilian
Nuclear PWR Plant |
167.8 |
3.73 |
Infinite |
|
1960s Naval
Nuclear D2G PWR Plant |
41.1 to 51.1 |
3.73 (guess) |
Infinite |
|
Civilian
Nuclear Gas Turbine |
41.94 |
3.73 |
Infinite |
|
Naval Nuclear
Gas Turbine |
25 (Guess, since you must have radiation shielding) |
3.73 |
Infinite |
|
Modern Nuclear
RTGs |
185 |
19.94 |
Infinite |
|
Modern Solar Cells |
99.3 |
3.178 |
Infinite on sunny days |
|
Fuel Data Table |
||
|
Fuel Type |
Density |
Density |
|
JET A |
817.5 |
6.75 |
|
Gasoline |
737.22 |
6.27 |
|
Diesel |
885 |
7.03 |
|
Track Systems Data Table |
||
|
Track Type |
Weight |
Modifier |
|
80-100 Ton
Vehicle |
261 |
0.91 |
|
50-70 Ton
Vehicle |
180 |
0.64 |
|
30-40 Ton
Vehicle |
124 |
0.45 |
|
13-20 Ton
Vehicle |
65 |
0.31 |
|
80-100 Ton
Vehicle |
89.31 |
0.39 |
|
50-70 Ton
Vehicle |
61.53 |
0.27 |
|
30-40 Ton
Vehicle |
42.39 |
0.19 |
|
13-20 Ton
Vehicle |
22.22 |
0.13 |
|
Capacitor Data Table |
|
|
Type |
kJ/kg |
|
Modern Capacitor |
122 |
|
Possible Future? |
244 |
|
Transmission Data Table |
|
|
Type |
kg/kw |
|
T-72 Transmission |
2.84 |
|
Electric? |
4? |
|
Suspension Data Table |
|
|
Type |
kg/susp/kg |
|
Modern In Arm Suspension System |
27.97 |
|
Ammunition Table |
||
|
Ammunition Type |
Weight |
Volume (m3) |
|
Man Portable ATGM |
39.46 kg |
0.5 |
|
5.56mm Cartridge |
12 grams |
0.0037 |
|
7.62mm Cartridge |
25 grams |
0.0037 |
|
12.7mm Cartridge |
120
grams |
0.0037 |
|
Propellant Energy Level Table |
|
|
Type |
Joules/gram |
|
Modern Triple Base Tank/Artillery Propellant |
3,685 |
|
Resistance Levels (KE) |
|
|
Resistant to |
Means |
|
5.56 (generic short rifle rounds) |
10mm
penetration |
|
7.62 (generic full size rifle rounds) |
17mm
penetration |
|
12.7mm (Generic .50 BMG) |
22mm
penetration |
|
20x110mm Hispano |
29mm
penetration |
|
Soviet 30x 210mm M53 (BMP-2) |
50mm
penetration |
|
40mm L70 M56 AP |
66mm
penetration |
|
US 25mm (M242 Bushmaster) |
80mm
penetration |
|
40mm L70 APFSDS |
130mm
penetration |
|
Early 105mm and modern 76mm |
250mm
penetration |
|
1986 Era 120mm |
450mm
penetration |
|
Modern Era 120mm |
800mm
penetration |
|
Resistance Levels (HEAT) |
|
|
Resistant to |
Means |
|
Bazooka |
100mm |
|
Super Bazooka |
200mm |
|
RPG-7V |
330mm |
|
RPG-7VL |
500mm |
|
TOW |
600mm |
|
ITOW |
700mm |
|
TOW 2 |
800mm |
|
TOW 2A |
1000mm |
