Experimental and numerical investigations concerning the dynamics of penetration processes

Ricochet of a tungsten heavy alloy long-rod projectile from deformable steel plates

“…The post-impact behaviour of the deformable projectile and the deformable target with finite thickness described so far in general agrees qualitatively with what has been observed and predicted in the previous works in which ricochet occurred at undeformable (and sometimes rigid) target surfaces [6][7][8][9][10][11][12]. However, as apparent in figures 4-6, the inward deformation of the target plate due to the finite thickness comparable to the projectile diameter is shown to assist the segmentation of the projectile, followed by the perforation of the target plate by the broken rear part of the projectile.…”

“…Exploitation of ricochet to implement mass efficient means of armour protection is common in many military applications [2]. Despite numerous researches on ricochet of various types of projectiles from various types of surfaces [3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13], critical conditions for the ricochet of long-rod type projectiles has not been completely established yet.…”

“…In a numerical work on the ricochet of an annealed steel long-rod impacting on an oblique rolled homogenized armour (RHA) plate, Senf et al [8] predicted that the projectile bends on impacting the target plate and forms a plastic hinge which moves backward while its tip slides along the target surface. This prediction was supported by experimental observations.…”