Parametric study on mass loss of penetrators

• Published in: Acta mechanica Sinica Vol. 26; no. 4; pp. 585 - 597
• Main Authors: He, Li-Ling, Chen, Xiao-Wei, He, Xiang
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer-Verlag 01.08.2010
• Subjects: Classical and Continuum Physics; Computational Intelligence; Engineering; Engineering Fluid Dynamics; Research Paper; Theoretical and Applied Mechanics; 冲击速度; 大肠杆菌; 形状变化; 攻击目标; 渗透效率; 穿甲弹; 质量损失; Penetrator; Mass loss; Parametric study; Depth of penetration
• ISSN: 0567-7718; 1614-3116
• DOI: 10.1007/s10409-010-0341-8

Earth penetration weapon （EPW） is applicable for attacking underground targets protected by reinforced concrete and rocks. With increasing impact velocity, the mass loss/abrasion of penetrator increases, which significandy decreases the penetration efficiency due to the change of nose shape. The abrasion may induce instability of the penetrator, and lead to failure of its structure. A common disadvantage, i.e. dependence on corresponding experimen- tal results, exists in all the available formulae, which limits their ranges of application in estimating the mass loss of penetrator. In this paper, we conduct a parametric study on the mass loss of penetrator, and indicate that the mass loss of penetrator can be determined by seven variables, i.e., the initial impact velocity, initial nose shape, melting heat, shank diameter of projectile and density and strength of target as well as the aggregate hardness of target. Further discussion on factors dominant in the mass abrasion of penetrator are given, which may be helpful for optimizing the target or the projectile for defensive or offensive objectives, respectively.