Normal and oblique impact of small arms bullets on AA6082-T4 aluminium protective plates

Abstract Normal and oblique impact on 20 mm thick AA6082-T4 aluminium plates are studied both experimentally and numerically. Two types of small arms bullets were used in the ballistic tests, namely the 7.62 × 63 mm NATO Ball (with a soft lead core) and the 7.62 × 63 mm APM2 (with a hard steel core), fired from a long smooth-bore Mauser rifle. The targets were struck at 0°, 15°, 30°, 45° and 60° obliquity, and the impact velocity was about 830 m/s in all tests. During testing, the initial and residual bullet velocities were measured by various laser-based optical devices, and high-speed video cameras were used to photograph the penetration process. Of special interest is the critical oblique angle at which the penetration process changes from perforation to embedment or ricochet. The results show that the critical oblique angle was less than 60° for both bullet types. A material test programme was also conducted for the AA6082-T4 plate to calibrate a modified Johnson–Cook constitutive relation and the Cockcroft–Latham failure criterion, while material data for the bullets mainly were taken from the literature. 3D non-linear FE simulations with detailed models of the bullets were finally run. Good agreement between the FE simulations and the experimental results for the APM2 bullets was in general obtained, while it was more difficult to get reliable FE results for the soft core Ball bullets.

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

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

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

[4]  S. R. Bodner,et al.  An investigation of oblique perforation of metallic plates by projectiles , 1977 .

[5]  T. L. Warren,et al.  Perforation of 7075-T651 Aluminum Armor Plates with 7.62 mm APM2 Bullets , 2010 .

[6]  Stefan Hiermaier,et al.  Structures under crash and impact , 2007 .

[7]  T. L. Warren,et al.  Perforation of 5083-H116 Aluminum Armor Plates with Ogive-Nose Rods and 7.62 mm APM2 Bullets , 2010 .

[8]  Anupam Chakrabarti,et al.  3D numerical simulations of sharp nosed projectile impact on ductile targets , 2010 .

[9]  Mohd. Ashraf Iqbal,et al.  3D numerical simulations of ductile targets subjected to oblique impact by sharp nosed projectiles , 2010 .

[10]  Tso-Liang Teng,et al.  Numerical analysis of oblique impact on reinforced concrete , 2005 .

[11]  Werner Goldsmith,et al.  Non-ideal projectile impact on targets , 1999 .

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

[13]  Jonas A. Zukas,et al.  High velocity impact dynamics , 1990 .

[14]  Vemuri Madhu,et al.  Normal and oblique impact of a kinetic energy projectile on mild steel plates , 1992 .

[15]  W. Johnson,et al.  High velocity oblique impact and ricochet mainly of long rod projectiles: An overview , 1982 .

[16]  Alexander A. Lukyanov,et al.  Constitutive behaviour of anisotropic materials under shock loading , 2008 .

[17]  Tore Børvik,et al.  On the influence of fracture criterion in projectile impact of steel plates , 2006 .

[18]  William James Stronge,et al.  Ballistic limit for oblique impact of thin sandwich panels and spaced plates , 2008 .

[19]  G. R. Johnson,et al.  Conversion of 3D distorted elements into meshless particles during dynamic deformation , 2003 .

[20]  Odd Sture Hopperstad,et al.  Quasi-brittle fracture during structural impact of AA7075-T651 aluminium plates , 2010 .

[21]  M. Shokrieh,et al.  Penetration analysis of a projectile in ceramic composite armor , 2008 .

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

[23]  T. Børvik,et al.  A computational model of viscoplasticity and ductile damage for impact and penetration , 2001 .

[24]  G. Venizelos,et al.  High strain rate properties of selected aluminium alloys , 2000 .

[25]  M. Meyers.  Dynamic Behavior of Materials , 1994 .

[26]  T. Børvik,et al.  Perforation resistance of five different high-strength steel plates subjected to small-arms projectiles , 2009 .

[27]  C. Navarro,et al.  Experimental and numerical analysis of normal and oblique ballistic impacts on thin carbon/epoxy woven laminates , 2008 .