The effect of impact velocity and target thickness on ballistic performance of layered plates using Taguchi method

• Failure mechanisms of target plates of various single and multi-layered configurations were discussed.
• Results showed that target thickness and impact velocity were the significant variables on residual velocity.
• Layer configuration was found to be insignificant relating to ballistic performance.
• The confirmation experiments have also been conducted to validate the results obtained by Taguchi technique.

This paper presents the effect of test parameters such as Impact velocity, configuration and target thickness on ballistic performance of weldox steel plates against 7.62 mm APM2 projectile using Taguchi method. Trials were planned using an L 18 orthogonal array with 18 combinations of test variables to assess the influence of various factors. Numerical simulations have been carried out using Ansys Autodyn code with the above three process variables. Failure mechanisms of target plates of various single and multi-layered configurations were also discussed. Most portion of the kinetic energy of the projectile was expended in plastic deformation of the target material before perforation due to better bending stiffness of the target plate. Results showed that target thickness and impact velocity were the significant variables on residual velocity. Layer configuration was found to be insignificant relating to ballistic performance. Significant interaction is observed between impact velocity and target thickness from interaction plots. Simulated and experimental results showed good agreement with each other.