On the deep penetration and plate perforation by rigid projectiles

We present results of a large number of 2D numerical simulations in which we investigated various aspects in the deep penetration of rigid short projectiles into semi-infinite targets. as well as their perforation through thin metallic plates. In particular, we analyze the effect of the entrance phase on the penetration characteristics of short ogive and spherical nosed projectiles. The second issue which we investigate here concerns the perforation of metallic plates by sharp nosed projectiles. Our simulation results show that a simple model, which is based on energy conservation, accounts for the residual velocities when the target is penetrated by the ductile hole enlargement process. In addition, we define a new concept, the effective resisting stress which the plate exerts on the projectile during perforation. We show that it has some valuable insights for the process of perforation and we perform a parametric study to understand its dependence on various parameters. This effective stress, which determines the ballistic limit velocity of the projectile, depends on the strength of the plate, as well as on its thickness, as we show here. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.