Experimental investigation on the ballistic performance of double-layered plates subjected to impact by projectile of high strength

• The layering order of plate affects the ballistic resistance of layered plates.
• The nose shape of projectile affects the ballistic resistance of layered plates.
• The layering order of plate affects the influence of the nose shape of projectile.
• The nose shape of projectile affects the influence of the layering order of plate.
• The nose shape of projectile affects its keep integrity ability.

In this paper, the ballistic performance of double-layered steel plates of different materials impacted by blunt- and ogival-nosed projectiles is experimentally investigated by a gas gun. The ballistic limit velocity for each configuration is obtained and compared on the investigation of the effect of the order of layers and the nose shape of projectiles on the ballistic resistance of targets. The experimental results showed that the ballistic limit velocities are higher for the double-layered plates of the upper layer of high strength and low ductility material and the lower layer of low strength and high ductility material than the configuration of the opposite layering order. Moreover, the ballistic limit velocities of ogival-nosed projectiles are significantly smaller than those of blunt-nosed projectiles. Furthermore, the keep integrity ability of ogival-projectiles is obvious stronger than that of blunt-nosed projectiles, and also the blunt-nosed projectiles lose some mass and their length shorten, but the loss of mass and length of ogival-nosed projectiles are tiny that can be neglected. The differences in the ballistic limit velocities between various impact conditions can be related to the transitions of perforation mechanisms and failure models of plates and projectiles.