Penetration of Nylon Ballistic Panels by Fragment-Simulating Projectiles

Abstract

The main purpose of this report is to present an analysis of the ballistic behavior of the fragment-simulating projectile (FSP)-nylon cloth system. For a set of Vc determinations, plots of Vr versus Vs can be adequately represented by hyperbolas. The energy lost by an FSP after complete passage through a nylon ballistic panel of L layers is virtually constant, independent of the striking velocity. The hyperbolas lie on a portion of the surface of a hyperbolic paraboloid with Vr, Vs, and L as axes. The minimum penetration velocity of a missile that has reached the plane of the Lth layer is practically equal to the Vc (or V50) for L layers. The work of penetration per interior layer is essentially constant. For the interior layers, the average force and average deceleration per layer are approximately 1.03 times 104 N and 9.34 times 106 m/s2, respectively. This behavior holds for bonded (laminated) nylon ballistic panels, for the FSP-Kevlar system, and for the right-circular-cylinder missile/nylon system so far. Response surfaces are given for the FSP-nylon and FSP-bonded nylon systems relating ballistic performance to the diameter of the FSP, the firing obliquity, and the number of layers of cloth in the panel. The associated three-dimensional plots are also provided.