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According to this paper if diamonds are doped with some boron and nitrogen it will gain enormous toughness while retaining the superhardness characteristic of diamonds.

This diamonds reach toughness of 34 MPa√m !! This value is about 10 times tougher than most ceramics and approaching the realm of aluminum alloys.

Assuming we are able to produce such diamonds in the bulk with low cost , how would these diamonds perform as an armor ?

How would this material be in comparison to armor steels like AR500 & AR600 agains armor-piercing bullets ?

Note: this not duplicate , old questions did not mentioned super tough diamonds.

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    $\begingroup$ What sort of Ceramics and Aluminium alloys are you talking about? A quick google suggest AR500 has a yield strength of 1300MPa which is way higher than your little diamonds. Please also note that hardness (indentation and scratch resistance) isn't as important as how brittle the material is (how easily it shatters). $\endgroup$
    – Shadowzee
    Commented Mar 20, 2019 at 5:14
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    $\begingroup$ you didn’t even know the difference between fracture toughness and tensile strength . $\endgroup$
    – Johnny
    Commented Mar 20, 2019 at 5:57
  • $\begingroup$ some grades of tungsten carbide have a tensile strength of 2500 MPa yet they are they are more brittle compared to steel. natural diamonds have a values up to 7500 MPa , 5 times that of AR500 steel . diamond micro-needles have a tensile strength up to 100,000 MPa with 9% elastic strain , while diamond micropillars have a compressive strength up to 250,000 MPa with up to 18% strain !! that is two orders of magnitude higher than your tiny steel . $\endgroup$
    – Johnny
    Commented Mar 20, 2019 at 6:06
  • $\begingroup$ Not an answer hence a comment but I'd just apply diamond dust to the surface of a metal armor. Less diamond needed and smaller crystals are cheaper. And looks pretty which matters. Should also be more resistant to shattering but the main thing is that when they shatter they absorb energy but the area of armor that loses its diamond coating should be minimal. You can also make a real composite by putting small diamonds inside the steel. Some modern armor include "nanoceramics" which would presumably be close enough to be replaced with diamonds of the same size. $\endgroup$
    – Ville Niemi
    Commented Mar 20, 2019 at 6:33
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    $\begingroup$ Why compare ceramic armor to steel? Steel can stop bullets indefinietly, ceramics get weaker with each shot. $\endgroup$
    – Mephistopheles
    Commented Mar 20, 2019 at 6:54

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There is a big difference between hardness and toughness, diamond is really hard(scratch resistant) and not that tough (blunt impact resistant), if you take an ordinary hammer and hit a diamond it will shatter. Also hardness means it's brittle so would break very easily, in things like sword and armors we need something that will vibrate and dissipate the impact, that would be true both in armors and in weapons. If you make it super duper tough it's not a "diamond" anymore, than yes it would work wonders as an armor.

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  • $\begingroup$ did you even read the question ? $\endgroup$
    – Johnny
    Commented Mar 21, 2019 at 13:08

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