Numerical Investigations on Ricochet of a Spinstabilised Projectile on Differently Shaped Target Surfaces

Abstract

Conflict and large-scale disasters are more likely to occur where large populations reside. Expanding urbanisation will see future peace-keeping missions in such closed urban locations where foot soldiers find themselves surrounded by house walls and close to their armoured vehicles. In closed environments, the likelihood of projectile ricochet arises in the event of combat. It is crucial to fully understand the interaction of different parameters during projectile ricochet, and continuously improving FE-codes can give a closer insight on the ricochet scenario. This investigation focuses on the target shape upon oblique impact, and its influence on projectile ricochet is experimentally and numerically investigated. Numerical simulations—using the explicit Lagrangian solver in the commercial LSDYNA software—are used for a qualitative investigation, as measurement precision limits determination of the influence of shaped surfaces on ricochet.