Experimental and numerical investigation of perforation of thin steel plates by deformable steel penetrators

• Experimental results of perforation of thin steel plates are reported.
• A FEM model is developed and simulation results are compared with experiments.
• Very good overall agreement between the model and experimental results is obtained.
• The empirical relation for the minimum perforation kinetic energy is suggested.

This paper considers the modeling of perforation of thin steel plates by cylindrical steel penetrators – fragment simulators. A comprehensive experimental investigation was performed and relevant data about the experiment setup and measuring equipment are reported. A numerical model developed in FEM based software Abaqus is described in detail. The Johnson–Cook thermo-viscoplastic constitutive law, as well as the Johnson–Cook damage model is used in the model. It has been shown that simulations correctly reproduce the main mechanisms of penetration process – indentation, bulging and plugging. Computational results are compared with experimental data in terms of the ballistic curves – diagrams that define the dependence of penetrator residual velocity on its impact velocity. The comparison of numerically obtained and measured values of deformed penetrator's diameter, plug thickness and maximum plate deflection has been also performed. Very good overall agreement is obtained between results of simulation and experimental measurements. After the validation of the numerical model, some empirical relations between perforation process parameters are derived.

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