Perforation of AA5083-H116 aluminium plates with conical-nose steel projectiles—experimental study

Abstract The interest regarding use of aluminium alloys in lightweight protective structures is today increasing. Even so, the number of experimental and computational investigations giving detailed information on such problems is still rather limited. In this paper, perforation experiments have been performed on AA5083-H116 aluminium plates with thicknesses varying between 15 and 30 mm impacted by 20 mm diameter, 98 mm long, HRC 53 conical-nose hardened steel projectiles. In all tests, initial and residual velocities of the projectile were measured and a digital high-speed camera system was used to photograph the penetration and perforation process. Based on these measurements, impact versus residual velocity curves of the target plates were constructed and the ballistic limit velocity of each target was obtained. An analytical perforation model from the open literature is then used to predict the ballistic limit velocity, and excellent agreement with the experimental data is found. The experimental results are finally compared to similar experiments on steel and concrete targets, and the capacity of the different materials is evaluated in relation to total weight.

[1]  T. L. Warren,et al.  Perforation of aluminum plates with ogive-nose steel rods at normal and oblique impacts , 1996 .

[2]  S. L. Rice,et al.  Impact strength of materials , 1972 .

[3]  Werner Goldsmith,et al.  Normal projectile penetration and perforation of layered targets , 1988 .

[4]  R. Armstrong,et al.  Influences of strain rate and grain size on yield and serrated flow in commercial Al-Mg alloy 5086 , 1999 .

[5]  Raisuddin Ansari,et al.  Normal impact of ogive nosed projectiles on thin plates , 2001 .

[6]  Ahmed Benallal,et al.  Flow and fracture characteristics of aluminium alloy AA5083–H116 as function of strain rate, temperature and triaxiality , 2004 .

[7]  M. J. Forrestal,et al.  Perforation of aluminum plates with conical-nosed rods , 1987 .

[8]  M. Langseth,et al.  An Experimental set-up used in Ballistic Penetration , 2001 .

[9]  M. J. Forrestal,et al.  Perforation of aluminum armor plates with conical-nose projectiles , 1990 .

[10]  T. W. Ipson,et al.  Ballistic Perforation Dynamics , 1963 .

[11]  S. R. Bodner,et al.  Projectile perforation of multi-layered beams☆ , 1979 .

[12]  M. J. Forrestal,et al.  Perforation of Aluminum Plates with Conical-Nosed Rods—Additional Data and Discussion , 1988 .

[13]  Tore Børvik,et al.  Perforation of 12 mm thick steel plates by 20 mm diameter projectiles with flat, hemispherical and c , 2002 .

[14]  S. J. Cimpoeru,et al.  A study of the perforation of aluminium laminate targets , 1998 .

[15]  M. B. Rubin,et al.  Oblique penetration of a rigid projectile into a thick elastic–plastic target: theory and experiment , 1999 .

[16]  B. K. Fink,et al.  Aluminum foam integral armor: a new dimension in armor design , 2001 .

[17]  C. Sun,et al.  Dynamic penetration of alumina/aluminum laminates: experiments and modeling , 2001 .

[18]  T. Wierzbicki.  Petalling of plates under explosive and impact loading , 1999 .

[19]  M. Langseth,et al.  Ballistic penetration of steel plates , 1999 .

[20]  G. R. Johnson,et al.  Fracture characteristics of three metals subjected to various strains, strain rates, temperatures and pressures , 1985 .

[21]  Werner Golsdmith,et al.  Penetration and perforation processes in metal targets at and above ballistic velocities , 1971 .

[22]  Werner Goldsmith,et al.  The mechanics of penetration of projectiles into targets , 1978 .

[23]  Werner Goldsmith,et al.  Normal impact and perforation of thin plates by hemispherically-tipped projectiles — II. Experimental results , 1984 .

[24]  M. Langseth,et al.  Effect of target thickness in blunt projectile penetration of Weldox 460 E steel plates , 2003 .

[25]  C. Ruiz,et al.  Impact loading of plates — An experimental investigation , 1983 .

[26]  G. G. Corbett,et al.  Impact loading of plates and shells by free-flying projectiles: A review , 1996 .

[27]  Werner Goldsmith,et al.  Petalling of thin, metallic plates during penetration by cylindro-conical projectiles , 1985 .