High-speed penetration of ogive-nose projectiles into thick concrete targets:Tests and a projectile nose evolution model

The majority of the projectiles used in the hypersonic penetration study are solid flat-nosed cylindrical projectiles with a diameter of less than 20 mm.This study aims to fill the gap in the experimental and analytical study of the evolution of the nose shape of larger hollow projectiles under hypersonic penetration.In the hypersonic penetration test,eight ogive-nose AerMet100 steel projectiles with a diameter of 40 mm were launched to hit concrete targets with impact velocities that ranged from 1351 to 1877 m/s.Severe erosion of the projectiles was observed during high-speed penetration of heterogeneous targets,and apparent localized mushrooming occurred in the front nose of recovered projectiles.By examining the damage to projectiles,a linear relationship was found between the relative length reduction rate and the initial kinetic energy of projectiles in different penetration tests.Furthermore,microscopic analysis revealed the forming mechanism of the localized mushrooming phenomenon for eroding penetration,i.e.,material spall erosion abrasion mechanism,material flow and redistribution abrasion mechanism and localized radial upsetting deformation mechanism.Finally,a model of highspeed penetration that included erosion was established on the basis of a model of the evolution of the projectile nose that considers radial upsetting;the model was validated by test data from the literature and the present study.Depending upon the impact velocity,v0,the projectile nose may behave as undistorted,radially distorted or hemispherical.Due to the effects of abrasion of the projectile and enhancement of radial upsetting on the duration and amplitude of the secondary rising segment in the pulse shape of projectile deceleration,the predicted DOP had an upper limit.

Strain Measurement for Hollow Projectiles During Its Penetration of Concrete Targets

Gives a new technique to measure the dynamic deformation behavior and strain development of a hollow steel projectile during its penetration of concrete targets. Direct strain measurement was performed by applying strain gages attached to the inner walls of the hollow projectile, linked with on-board testing and storage recorder. This on-board test-record system is easy to operate, cost-effective and can provide reasonable, accurate and detailed information. Obverse ballistic experiments were carried out on ogival-nose hollow projectiles normally impacting concrete targets at velocities from 150 m/s to 300 m/s. The deformation process of projectiles was measured, recorded and played back. Profiles of voltage-time relationship were successively obtained and transfered to strain-time relationship with the aid of calibration tables. It was found that projectiles go through a series of compression and tension deformations intermittently. Relationships between strain development and projectile deformation process were discussed.

A spherical cavity expansion model for penetration of ogival-nosed projectiles into concrete targets with shear-dilatancy

A dynamic spherical cavity-expansion penetration model is suggested herein to predict the penetration and perforation of concrete targets struck normally by ogivalnosed projectiles.Shear dilatancy as well as compressibility of the material in comminuted region are considered in the paper by introducing a dilatant-kinematic relation.A procedure is first presented to compute the radial stress at the cavity surface and then a numerical method is used to calculate the results of penetration and perforation with friction being taken into account.The influences of various target parameters such as shear strength,bulk modulus,density,Poisson＇s ratio and tensile strength on the depth of penetration are delineated.It is shown that the model predictions are in good agreement with available experimental data.It is also shown that the shear strength plays a dominant role in the target resistance to penetration.

Rigid elliptical cross-section ogive-nose projectiles penetration into concrete targets

The elliptical cross-section ogive-nose projectile(ECOP) has recently attracted attention because it is well suited to the flattened shape of earth-penetrating weapons. However, the penetration performance of ECOPs has not been completely understood. The objective of this study was to investigate the penetration performance of ECOPs into concrete targets using a theoretical method. A general geometric model of ECOPs was introduced, and closed-form penetration equations were derived according to the dynamic cavity-expansion theory. The model was validated by comparing the predicted penetration depths with test data, and the maximum deviation was 15.8%. The increment in the penetration depth of the ECOP was evaluated using the proposed model, and the effect of the majoreminor axis ratio on the increment was examined. Additionally, the mechanism of the penetration-depth increment was investigated with respect to the caliber radius head, axial stress, and resistance.

Attitude deflection of oblique perforation of concrete targets by a rigid projectile

A perforation model is developed to predict the attitude deflection in the oblique perforation of concrete targets by a rigid projectile,in which the inertial moment of the projectile is introduced,together with taking the attitude deflection during the shear plugging sub-stage into account,and the shape of the plug formed on the rear surface of target is also re-investigated.Moreover,a new classification of concrete targets is proposed based on the target thickness,with which the attitude deflections in different kinds of concrete targets are analyzed.It is found that the numerical results by using the new perforation model are in good agreement with the previous experimental data and simulated results.Furthermore,the variations of the attitude deflection with the initial conditions(the initial attitude angle and the initial impact velocity) are investigated.

Resistance of grid steel-tube-confined concrete targets against projectile impact: Experimental investigation and analytical engineering model

Steel-tube-confined concrete(STCC) targets are provided with excellent anti-penetration performance over semi-infinite concrete(SIC) targets since the steel tube imposes passive restraint on the in-filled concrete during the penetration process. Grid STCC system with square steel tubes is a potential solution to protective structures. In this paper, experiments of 9-cell grid STCC targets penetrated by 12.7 mm Armor Piercing Projectile(APP) were performed. The influence of side length and thickness of steel tube,steel ratio and impact velocity on anti-penetration performance were taken into account. Additionally,single-cell square STCC targets were also designed and tested for comparison with the 9-cell grid STCC targets. Damage modes and parameters of the tested targets were measured and discussed. Moreover,the stiffness of radial confinement of grid STCC targets is achieved according to the elastic solution of infinite cylindrical shell in Winkler medium. Furthermore, the penetration resistance and depth of penetration(DOP) for grid STCC targets are obtained on the basis of the dynamic finite spherical cavityexpansion(FSCE) models including radial confinement effect. It is shown that the 9-cell grid STCC targets with optimal dimension match of thickness and side length of steel tube can reduce the DOP by about17 % and 23 % in comparison with the SIC targets and single-cell square STCC targets, respectively, due to both the confinement of square steel tube to concrete in the impacted cell and the additional confinement of the surrounding cells to the impacted cell;the penetration resistance and DOP of the grid and cellular STCC targets with similar steel ratio is close, and thus the grid STCC targets with simpler manufacturing process and excellent in-plane expandability are preferred in engineering practice;moreover, the predicted results of DOP model based on the FSCE models agree well with the tested results with the maximum disparity less than 12 % and the proposed model is more applicable to the grid and cellular STCC targets with high radial confinement.

Numerical study on the resistance of rigid projectiles penetrating into semi-infinite concrete targets

A study on the resistance of rigid projectiles penetrating into semi-infinite concrete targets is performed in this paper.Experimental data are analyzed to examine the penetration resistance during various stages of the penetration process.A numerical tool using AUTODYN hydrocode is applied in the study.The numerical results on both deceleration-time history and depth of penetration of projectiles are in good agreement with experimental data,which demonstrate the feasibility of the numerical model in these conditions.Based on the numerical model with a two-staged pre-drilled hole,the rigid projectile penetration in tunneling stage is studied for concrete targets with different strengths in a wide range of impact velocities.The results show that the penetration in tunnel stage can be divided into two different cases in terms of initial impact velocity.In the first case,when the impact velocity is approximately less than 600 m/s,the deceleration depends on initial impact velocity.In the second case,when the impact velocity is greater than 600 m/s,the effect of target inertia becomes apparent,which agrees with commonly used concrete penetration resistance equations based on cavity expansion model.

NORMAL EXPANSION THEORY FOR PENETRATION OF PROJECTILE AGAINST CONCRETE TARGET

Based on the equations which describe the dynamic behavior of material under high-velocity and high-pressure shock, corresponding equations at shock front whose surface is general space curve surface were established. For concrete material, a normal expansion theory was proposed by which some deceleration about time history of the projectile can be analytically given. This normal expansion theory is not only suitable for spherical and cylindrical-nose projectile, but also suitable for other general nose projectile, for example conical nose or ogive-nose. And it is not only suitable for perpendicular shock but also for oblique shock.

3D Numerical Simulation of Projectile Penetration into Concrete Target

Basing on the explicit instantaneous dynamics software MSC-Dytran and the general coupling arithmetic, the process of the projectile penetration into concrete target was simulated with the point-line-surfacebody modeling method. Simulation results are in agreement with experimental results. The simulated data could provide design reference for the defense engineering construction and penetrator design.

Effect of projectile parameters on opening behavior of PELE penetrating RC target

When a penetrator with enhanced lateral effect(PELE) impacts on a reinforced concrete(RC) target,the target is damaged with a large opening.An understanding of how PELE projectile parameters affect the opening dimension,is essential for effective design of the PELE projectile.In this study,under the condition that the impact velocity and target parameters(strength and thickness) were fixed values,the important influence factors of the PELE(jacket wall thickness B,jacket material strength Y1,filling material strength Y2 and angle of monolithic jacket θ) were determined by a dimensional analysis.Tests and simulations of the PELE penetrating the RC target were conducted to analyze the influence of these factors on opening diameter(D,an equivalent diameter under relative kinetic energy).Based on the test and simulation results,it is found that the influence of these factors B,Y1 and θ on the deformation mode of the jacket shows a similar trend:as values of the three factors decrease,the jacket deforms from small bending deformation to large one,and then to curling deformation.This causes the opening diameter to first increase with the decrease of these three factors,and then decreases.It is well known that the bending resistance of the jacket is related to these factors B,Y1 and θ.Therefore,a plastic limit bending moment(M0) of the jacket was quoted to characterize the influence of these factors on the bending deformation of the jacket and the opening diameter of the target.The influence factor Y2 causes D to first increase with the increase of Y2,and then decreases.A formula was developed to predict the opening diameter,whose influence parameters were considered in a dimensionless way.It has been shown that the dimensionless opening diameter D/d1 is dependent on two dimensionless parameters■ and■,where d1 and fc are the outer diameter of the projectile and the compressive strength of the target,respectively.

Similarities in the penetration depth of concrete impacted by rigid projectiles

Similarity can reflect common laws in the mechanism of rigid-body penetration.In this paper,the similarities in rigid-body penetration depth are demonstrated by three non-dimensional but physically meaningful quantities,i.e.,ρkinetic,I∗ln and N′1.These three quantities represent the non-dimensional areal density of projectile kinetic energy,the effect of nose geometry,and the friction at the interactive cross section between projectile and target respectively.It is shown that experimental data of rigid projectile penetration,from shallow to deep penetration,can be uniquely unified by these three similarity quantities and their relationships.Furthermore,for ogival nose projectiles,their penetration capacities are dominated byρkinetic,which is consisted by non-dimensional effective length Leff and non-dimensional quantity Dpn=ρpv20AY which has the same form as Johnson’s damage number.On the sacrifice of minor theoretical accuracy,the non-dimensional penetration depth P/d can be understood as directly controlled by Dpn,enhanced by projectile effective length Leff under a multiplication relation,and optimized by projectile nose geometry in the formation of I∗ln.

A mass abrasion model with the melting and cutting mechanisms during high-speed projectile penetration into concrete slabs

In this study,ogive-nose projectile penetration into concrete slabs was tested at initial projectile impact velocities ranging from 1325.0 m/s to 1425.0 m/s.The depth of penetration and mass loss of the projectiles were measured,and the residual projectiles were recovered after the penetration tests.Scanning electron microscopy and metallographic microscopy of the microstructures were performed on various sections and outer surfaces of the projectiles taken from different locations of the residual projectiles,to analyze the intrinsic mechanisms of mass abrasion.The analysis results reveal that,during high-speed projectile penetration,projectile abrasion is caused by multiple mechanisms.Based on the cavity expansion theory,a projectile penetration model was established by considering the two main mass loss mechanisms observed in the microscopic tests.The theoretical predictions of the penetration depth,mass loss rate,and change of projectile head are consistent with the experimental results obtained both in this study and previous research.