Patent ID: 8377512

Claim:
A method for producing an armor system, comprising: providing a core material having fixed and unchanging boundaries; spraying a stream of atomized coating material out from a nozzle, the stream of atomized coating material comprising a liquid fraction and a solid fraction and exhibiting a gradient in the liquid fraction and a gradient in the solid fraction in a direction of flow of the stream of atomized coating material; and encapsulating substantially the entirety of the core material with a coating layer by positioning the core material in the stream of atomized coating material, wherein encapsulating comprises: positioning the core material at a first location in a first plane transverse to the direction of flow of the stream of atomized coating material a first distance from the nozzle in the stream of atomized coating material wherein the solid fraction of the stream of atomized coating material is less than the liquid fraction of the stream of atomized coating material on a weight basis and depositing an initial coating material layer on substantially the entirety of the core material; and moving the core material away from the nozzle to a second location in a second plane transverse to the direction of flow of the stream of atomized coating material farther from the nozzle than the first location in the stream of atomized coating material wherein the solid fraction of the stream of atomized coating material is greater than the liquid fraction of the stream of atomized coating material on a weight basis and depositing an outer coating material layer on the initial coating material layer.