Influence of impactor nature, mass, size and shape on ballistic resistance of mild steel and Armox 500 T steel

Abstract

This study is based on the finite element investigation of the response of mild steel and Armox 500 T steel targets subjected to macro- and micro-size impactor. The simulations were carried out on target against penetrator with varying masses, sizes, shapes and different nature (rigid and deformable projectiles) using ABAQUS/Explicit. The material parameters of Johnson–Cook elasto-viscoplastic model were employed for predicting the behaviour of the target. The impact resistance of mild steel and Armox 500 T steel plates has been studied against flat nose having masses of 4, 8, 13.5, 27, 32 and 64 kg. The influence of temperature has also been studied numerically for particular penetrator. To study the influence of nature of projectile, the simulations were performed on mild steel and Armox 500 T steel targets against deformable 2024 aluminium flat, hardened steel flat and hardened steel conical impactors at 950 and 150 m/s incidence velocities. Also, the simulations were carried out on given target against 7.62 and 12.7 mm armour piercing incendiary ogival nose projectiles. The performance of (4.7 + 4.7 mm) 9.4-mm-thick equivalent mild steel and Armox 500 T steel plate in combination has also been studied against 7.62 armour piercing incendiary ogival nose projectiles at 950 and 150 m/s incidence velocities. The study thus presents a detailed investigation in terms of penetration, perforation and failure mechanism of mild steel and Armox 500 T steel target and leads to some important conclusions pertaining to the force and resistance offered by the target.