Impact Response of A 50 MM Thick Rolled Homogeneous Armour Against 40 MM Armour Piercing Shots: An Experimental Study

Abstract

Ballistic performance of a 50 mm thick rolled homogeneous armour plate by impacting 40 mm armour piercing shots is evaluated through high speed shadowgraph experiments. The shots were impacted at 0° angle of attack with the plate. Perforation and deformation of the plate at the impact site was investigated at every 20 μs interval through high speed shadowgraph experiments. The impact events were illuminated using suitable arrangements of flash bulb illumination. During the test, performance of the plate was investigated for different striking velocities (vs) ranging between 546-789 m/s. Our results show that the shot gets shattered at a striking velocity of 756 m/s. Further increase in striking velocities results more number of flying fragments at the exit end. Investigation on bulge formation on rear side of the plate during shot-armour interaction reveals that height of bulge (hb) before its tearing increases with increase in the velocity and attains a maximum and then decreases for higher velocities where shot shattering occurs.