Experimental Study on Ignition Effects of Fuel-Filled Tank Impacted by Reactive Material Projectile

Ballistic impact experiments were conducted to investigate the ignition effects of a fuel-filled tank impacted by high-density pressed and sintered PTFE/Al/W reactive material projectiles. The experimental results show that, with the mass and size of projectiles fixed, when impacting a fuel-filled tank, the reactive projectile has a stronger capacity in igniting the tank than the steel projectile; the ignition behavior of reactive material projectiles by impacting a fuel-filled tank not only varies with impact velocity, but also is significantly influenced by impact position. Based on experimental results, the mechanisms of the influences of impact velocity and position on rupture and ignition of tanks with different amounts of fuel were analyzed. The results show that, reactive projectiles, through the combined effects of kinetic energy and chemical energy released during explosion, remarkably increase the damage to the fuel tank, improving the ejection and atomization of fuel. On the other hand, the duration and expansion region of the ignition source produced by deflagration reaction of reactive materials are greater. Thus reactive projectiles' capacity to ignite fuel is enhanced significantly.