An axisymmetric lagrangian technique for predicting earth penetration including penetrator response

A computational technique for earth penetration is presented which includes the direct coupling between the deformable target model and a deformable model of the penetrator. In this fully Lagrangian approach, both the target and penetrator are discretized to represent the anticipated terradynamic and structural responses. A sliding interface is used between the two models to provide the time-dependent terradynamic-to-penetrator interaction. This technique has the unique advantage of including the target-to-penetrator interaction in one calculation in a continuous and consistent manner. Comparisons of calculated penetration with full-scale field test data are given.