Study of the Ballistic Impact Behavior of Protective Multi-Layer Composite Armor

The abalone shell,a composite material whose cross-section is composed of inorganic and organic layers,has high strength and toughness.Inspired by the abalone shell,several multi-layer composite plates with different layer sequences and thicknesses are studied as bullet-proof material in this paper.To investigate the ballistic performance of this multi-layer structure,the complete characterization model and related material parameters of large deformation,failure and fracture ofAl_(2)O_(3)ceramics andCarbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer(CFRP)are studied.Then,3D finite element models of the proposed composite plates with different layer sequences and thicknesses impacted by a 12.7 mm armor-piercing incendiary(API)are built using Abaqus to predict failure.The simulation results show that the CFRP/Al2O3 ceramic/Ultrahigh Molecular Weight Polyethylene(UHMWPE)/CFRP(1 mm/4 mm/4 mm/1 mm)composite is the optimized stack of layers.The simulation results under specified layer sequence and thickness have a reasonable correlation with the experimental results and reflect the failure and fracture of the multi-layer composite protective armor.

新型ARMOR热防护系统

热防护系统是保证航天运载器安全、快捷、经济飞行的关键技术之一。在经历了C/C与陶瓷基复合材料等热防护结构后,一种新型的热防护系统应运而生-ARMOR(Adaptable,Robust,Metallic,Operable,Reusable)热防护系统(TPS)。ARMORTPS是一种可适应的、坚固的、金属性的、可操作的、可重复使用的新型热防护系统。它具有易于安装、使用寿命(耐久能力)长、材料的兼容性好、维修时间短等许多特点,是RLV的重要的候选热防护系统之一。本文介绍了热防护系统的发展现状和要求。着重介绍了ARMORTPS的基本结构,连接方式和密封方法等特点。目前ARMORTPS外面板采用的材料为inconel617等材料,未来热防护系统外面板的候选材料为γ～TiAl和微叠层等材料。最后总结了ARMORTPS的优点。

Experimental study of transient pressure wave in the behind armor blunt trauma induced by different rifle bullets

Pressure wave plays an important role in the occurrence of behind armor blunt trauma(BABT),and ballistic gelatin is widely used as a surrogate of biological tissue in the research of BABT.Comparison of pressure wave in the gelatin behind armor for different rifle bullets is lacking.The aim of this study was to observe dynamic changes in pressure wave induced by ballistic blunt impact on the armored gelatin block and to compare the effects of bullet type on the parameters of the transient pressure wave.The gelatin blocks protected with National Institute of Justice(NIJ) class III bulletproof armor were shot by three types of rifle bullet with the same level of impact energy.The transient pressure signals at five locations were recorded with pressure sensors and three parameters(maximum pressure,maximum pressure impulse,and the duration of the first positive phase) were determined and discussed.The results indicated that the waveform and the twin peak of transient pressure wave were not related to the bullet type.However,the values of pressure wave's parameters were significantly affected by bullet type.Additionally,the attenuation of pressure amplitude followed the similar law for the three ammunitions.These findings may be helpful to get some insight in the BABT and improve the structure design of bullet.

Research on Protection Capability of Flying-Whip Multifunctional Explosive Reactive Armor

The experimental research on protection capability of the flying-whip multifunctional explosive reactive armor (ERA) was performed, in which the comparison experiment was made on the damage effect of the flying-whip's geometrical figuration, material property and driven velocity on the long-rod armor-piercing-projectile. The moving velocity of the flying-whip driven by different explosives and the pressure attenuation law of shock wave travelling in the back plate were measured respectively with the electric probe method and the manganin piezoresistive gauge technique. The following conclusions based on a great quantity of experimental data were drawn: compared with the sandwich ERA the flying-whip multifunctional ERA has very good protection function against the long-rod armor-piercing-projectile, the shaped charge warhead and the anti-armor tandem warhead. In addition, the composite plate made of the armor-steel and rubber plate can lessen the vibration and shock of the main armor caused by the explosion of the charge..

Re-visiting the mass-flux model for Explosive Reactive Armor and the effect of plate thickness

Explosive Reactive Armor was originally modeled under the assumption that the plates in the cassettes were very thin.Hence their thickness could be ignored,and the thicknesses of the plates were considered only based on their areal mass density.In particular,it was assumed that the jet-plate interaction was controlled by the plates to jet-mass-flux ratio criteria for a specific jet velocity and diameter.In the present study,we extended this analysis,examining the effect of the variation of the mass-flux along the jet on the disruption effect by the two plates.In addition,we examined the thickness effect of the plates on the plate's effectiveness,replacing the steel plates by low-density materials like aluminum and polycarbonate.The mass-flux model was adjusted to account for the plate-thickness effect.It was found that increasing the thickness of the plate,keeping the areal weight unchanged,slightly increases the overall effectiveness of the cassette,in particular by the forward moving plate interacting with the center and the slow parts of the jet.

Effect of fusion welding processes on tensile properties of armor grade, high thickness, non-heat treatable aluminium alloy joints

AA5059 is one of the high strength armor grade aluminium alloy that finds its applications in the military vehicles due to the higher resistance against the armor piercing (AP) threats. This study aimed at finding the best suitable process among the fusion welding processes such as gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW) and gas metal arc welding (GMAW) by evaluating the tensile properties of AA5059 aluminium alloy joints. The fracture path was identified by mapping the low hardness distribution profile (LHDP) across the weld cross section under tensile loading. Optical and scanning electron microscopies were used to characterize the microstructural features of the welded joints at various zones. It is evident from the results that GTAW joints showed superior tensile properties compared to GMAW joints and this is primarily owing to the presence of finer grains in the weld metal zone (WMZ) and narrow heat-affected zone (HAZ). The lower heat input associated with the GTAW process effectively reduced the size of the WMZ and HAZ compared to GMAW process. Lower heat input of GTAW process results in faster cooling rate which hinders the grain growth and reduces the evaporation of magnesium in weld metal compared to GMAW joints. The fracture surface of GTAW joint consists of more dimples than GMAW joints which is an indication that the GTAW joint possess improved ductility than GMAW joint.

Virtual Prototype Simulation and Reliability Analysis for Drive System of Armored Chassis

Drive system is the key device of armored chassis. Its working state and reliability influence the maneuver performance of armored chassis directly. In order to simulate the failure process and evaluate the service reliability of drive system in training or battle missions,a new kind of dynamic simulation model and driving simulation platform of the complete drive system were established based on virtual prototype and finite element technology in this paper. Using the platform, the kinematics and dynamic characteristics of drive system were studied and analyzed in detail,the dynamic load spectrum of key components was obtained,the service life was predicted, and the service reliability evaluation results were provided. A simulation example of transmission gear was shown to illustrate the simulation and evaluation process. The result proves that the simulation method not only can be used to compute and evaluate the service reliability of complex mechanical mechanism, but also has high precision and reasonable computational cost. Therefore,simulation and reliability analysis based on virtual prototype of the armored chassis drive system will provide scientific reference for the formulation of armored chassis reasonable repair cycle.

Analysis of the mass of behind-armor debris generated by RHA subjected to normal penetration of variable cross-section EFP

Analyzing the mass of behind-armor debris (BAD) generated by Rolled Homogeneous Armor (RHA) subjected to normal penetration of variable cross-section Explosively Formed Projectile (EFP) is the purpose of this paper. So theoretical analysis, numerical simulation and experimental data are combined to analyze the influence of variable cross-section characteristic on the time history of crater radius. Moreover the relationships between time history of crater radius (as well as mass of BAD) and the thickness of RHA (from 30mm to 70 mm) and the impact velocity of EFP (1650 m/s to 1860 m/s) are also investigated. The results indicate that: 1) being compared to the variable cross-section characteristic is ignored, the theoretical time history of crater radius is in better agreement with the simulation results when the variable cross-section characteristic is considered;2) being compared to the other three conditions of plug, the theoretical mass of BAD is in the best agreement with the simulation results when the shape of plug is frustum of a cone and the angle between generatrix and bottom is 45- and the axial length of mushroom is considered.

Vibration Severity Monitoring and Evaluation of Armored Vehicle Transmission

Vibration monitoring and vibration severity evaluation of armored vehicle transmission are realized by additional sensors. An algorithm of vibration severity in frequency domain is presented. The algorithm has powerful applicability for signal type and flexible selectivity for frequency range,and avoids the processing of signal conversion used calculus and filtering compared to the algorithm of vibration severity in time domain. An applied example is given in company with attentive proceedings and measures for improving evaluation effect.

Simulation on the Strength of Model Armor Block on Rubble-Mound Breakwaters

This paper mainly deals with the simulation on the strength of the concrete armor block in model test. According to the requirement for the strength of blocks in models with various scales, the components of materials for model blocks and their proportions are determined. The failure of armor blocks on rubble-mound breakwaters is reproduced by model tests.

Design of Distorted Wave Protection Armor Units

In consideration of the global optimization for engineering projects, a group of calculation formulas have been derived by means of theoretical derivation and model tests. On this basis, a design procedure for the distorted units is proposed, by means of which the distorted units of an anology shape and an identical porosity ratio with the original units can be obtained after conducting a distorted enlargement and a normal contraction. The stability waveheight and stability factor of the distorted unit can be calculated with the enlargement factor, a, of the horizontal dimension of the distorted unit, or with the contraction scale, A , of the contracted distorted unit. As a result, the stability of the armor unit can be significantly improved without increasing the quantity of concrete. For the same wave met by the original units, the thickness of placement of the contracted distorted unit can be obviously reduced, thus, a large quantity of concrete can be saved, consequently, economic benefit can be achieved.

An Advanced Probabilistic Neural Network for the Design of Breakwater Armor Blocks

In this study, an advanced probabilistic neural network （APNN） method is proposed to reflect the global probability density function （PDF） by summing up the heterogeneous local PDF which is automatically determined in the individual standard deviation of variables. The APNN is applied to predict the stability number of armor blocks of breakwaters using the experimental data of＇ van der Meet, and the estimated results of the APNN are compared with those of an empirical formula and a previous artificial neural network （ANN） model. The APNN shows better results in predicting the stability number of armor bilks of breakwater and it provided the promising probabilistic viewpoints by using the individual standard deviation in a variable.

Numerical Simulation and Experimental Research on Penetration of Composite Ceramic Armor by Rod Projectile

The performance of composite ceramic armor penetrated by rod projectile was studied by both numerical simulation and experiment.The penetration and damage mechanisms of the projectile-armor after high-speed collision were also observed by high-speed photography.The experimental results showed that the ballistic performance of composite ceramic armor was highly affected by the density,hardness and toughness of bulletproof ceramic.The flow stress of the failed bulletproof ceramic is not only related to the pressure but also related to the strain rate.The phenomenological method based on Bodner-Partom ceramic model was introduced to derive the growth rate of damage.Numerical simulation results show good agreement with the experimental results.

Artificial neural network modeling of mechanical properties of armor steel under complex loading conditions

An artificial neural network （ANN） model is established to predict plastic flow behaviors of the 603 armor steel, based on experiments over wide ranges of strain rates （0. 001 -4 500 s -1 ） and temperatures （288 -873 K）. The descriptive and predictive capabilities of the ANN model are com- pared with several phenomenological and physically based constitutive models. The ANN model has a much better applicability than the other models in characterization of the flow stress. The tempera- ture and the strain rate effects on the flow stress can be described successfully by the ANN model, with an average error of 1.78% for both quasi-static and dynamic loading conditions. Besides its high accuracy in prediction of the strain rate jump tests, the ANN model is more convenient in model es- tablishment and data processing. The ANN model developed in this study may serve as a valid and ef- fective tool to predict plastic behaviors of the 603 steel under complex loading conditions.

Investigations on Structured Polyamide for Laser Sintered Body Armor

Stab resistance body armor（SRBA）is essential in protecting people from knife injuries.The protective parts of traditional SRBA are made of multi-layered ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene（UHMWPE）,which causes heavy heat stress for people wearing it.The protective parts of SRBA manufactured using laser sintering（LS）3D printing technology provide high manufacturing flexibility and low weight.Two different structures,plain plate and pyramid-structured plate,were investigated.The pyramid structure showed much higher stab resistance property then the plain plate,because of the angle and thickness effects.This is the first effort applying the LS technology and polyamide（PA）material（PA3200）on SRBA.By applying the pyramid structure on the protective layer of the SRBA,the total weight could reduce 30%-40%.

ANALYTICAL MODEL OF CERAMIC/METAL ARMOR IMPACTED BY DEFORMABLE PROJECTILE

A new analytical model was established to describe the complex behavior of ceramic/metal armor under impact of deformable projectile by assuming some hypotheses. Three aspects were taken into account： the mushrooming deformation of the projectile, the fragment of ceramic tile and the formation and change of ceramic conoid and the deformation of the metal backup plate. Solving the set of equations, all the variables were obtained for the different impact velocities： the extent and particle velocity in rigid zone; the extent, cross-section area and particle velocity in plastic zone; the velocity and depth of penetration of projectile to the target; the reduction in volume and compressive strength of the fractured ceramic conoid; the displacement and movement velocity of the effective zone of backup plate. Agreement observed among analytical result, numerical simulation and experimental result confirms the validity of the model, suggesting the model developed can be a useful tool for ceramic/metal armor design.

Bed Load Transport Rate in Scouring and Armoring Process of Non-uniform Sediment River Bed

Flume experiments were carried out to study bed load transport rate during rive bed scouring and ar- moring.A theoretical differential equation linking the transport rate to the probability of incipient motion of non-uniform sediment is solved.The transport rate is shown to decrease exponentially with time,according to the theory,which is in good agreement with the experiment data.

Steering Control of Wheeled Armored Vehicle with Brushless DC Motor

Considering the steering characters of one type of wheeled armored vehicle, a brushless direct current （DC） motor is adapted as the actuator for steering control. After investigating the known algorithms, one kind of algorithm, which combines the fuzzy logic control with the self-adapting PID control and the startup and pre-hrake control, is put forward. Then a test-bed is constructed, and an experiment is conducted. The result of experiment confirms the validity of this algorithm in steering control of wheeled armored vehicle with brushless DC motor.

Numerical Simulation of Random Wave Overtopping of Rubble Mound Breakwater with Armor Units

Based on the open source code OpenFOAM,a three-dimensional model is presented for simulation of the interaction between waves and rubble mound breakwater with armor units.The armor units with their real geometries are depicted through computational grids.The volume-averaged RANS equation and the seepage equation containing nonlinear term are used to describe the percolation in the core and underlayer of the breakwater.Grids independence analysis are carried out,the horizontal and vertical grid size are recommended to take as one-fifteenth of the mean nominal diameter D_(50) of the armor units and one-fifteenth of the wave height respectively.Random wave overtopping of rubble mound breakwater with armor units is simulated through the proposed model.The results show good agreement between the simulated and measured overtopping discharge rates for different types of armor units.The developed numerical model can be used to evaluate the random wave overtopping in design of rubble mound breakwater with artificial armor blocs.

Data-driven prediction of plate velocities and plate deformation of explosive reactive armor

Explosive reactive armor(ERA)is currently being actively developed as a protective system for mobile devices against ballistic threats such as kinetic energy penetrators and shaped-charge jets.Considering mobility,the aim is to design a protection system with a minimal amount of required mass.The efficiency of an ERA is sensitive to the impact position and the timing of the detonation.Therefore,different designs have to be tested for several impact scenarios to identify the best design.Since analytical models are not predicting the behavior of the ERA accurately enough and experiments,as well as numerical simulations,are too time-consuming,a data-driven model to estimate the displacements and deformation of plates of an ERA system is proposed here.The ground truth for the artificial neural network(ANN)is numerical simulation results that are validated with experiments.The ANN approximates the plate positions for different materials,plate sizes,and detonation point positions with sufficient accuracy in real-time.In a future investigation,the results from the model can be used to estimate the interaction of the ERA with a given threat.Then,a measure for the effectiveness of an ERA can be calculated.Finally,an optimal ERA can be designed and analyzed for any possible impact scenario in negligible time.