Impact effects in thin-walled structures
- Computational Mechanics Consultants, Inc., Baltimore, MD (United States)
A key parameter in the design of protective structures is the critical impact velocity, also known as the ballistic limit. This is the velocity below which a striker will fail to penetrate a barrier or some protective device. For strikers with regular shapes, such as cylinders (long and short), spheres and cones, analytical and empirical formulations for the determination of a ballistic limit exist at impact velocities ranging from 250 m/s to 6 km/s or higher. For non-standard shapes, two- and three-dimensional wave propagation codes (hydrocodes) can be valuable adjuncts to experiments in ballistic limit determinations. This is illustrated with the help of the ZeuS code in determining the ballistic limit of a short, tubular projectile striking a thin aluminum barrier and contrasting it to the value of the ballistic limit of a spherical projectile of equal mass against the same target. Several interesting features of the debris cloud generated by a tubular projectile striking a Whipple shield at hypervelocity are also pointed out. The paper concludes with a consideration of hydrodynamic ram effects in fluid-filled thin-walled structures. Where possible, comparisons are made of computed results with experimental data.
- OSTI ID:
- 428116
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-960706--; ISBN 0-7918-1772-5
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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