Penetration and cratering experiments of graphite by 0.5-mm diameter steel spheres at various impact velocities

• We present impact experiments of steel spheres onto graphite at various velocities.
• Tomographies provided crater dimensions and projectile depths of penetration.
• Crater dimensions are compared to previous works with similar materials.
• We notice four regimes of penetration behavior.
• A discussion of the physical mechanisms at play is proposed.

Cratering experiments have been conducted with 0.5-mm diameter AISI 52100 steel spherical projectiles and 30-mm diameter, 15-mm long graphite targets. The latter were made of a commercial grade of polycrystalline and porous graphite named EDM3 whose behavior is known as macroscopically isotropic. A two-stage light-gas gun launched the steel projectiles at velocities between 1.1 and 4.5 km s−1. In most cases, post-mortem tomographies revealed that the projectile was trapped, fragmented or not, inside the target. It showed that the apparent crater size and depth increase with the impact velocity. This is also the case of the crater volume which appears to follow a power law significantly different from those constructed in previous works for similar impact conditions and materials. Meanwhile, the projectile depth of penetration starts to decrease at velocities beyond 2.2 km s−1. This is firstly because of its plastic deformation and then, beyond 3.2 km s−1, because of its fragmentation. In addition to these three regimes of penetration behavior already described by a few authors, we suggest a fourth regime in which the projectile melting plays a significant role at velocities above 4.1 km s−1. A discussion of these four regimes is provided and indicates that each phenomenon may account for the local evolution of the depth of penetration.