Impact-induced energy release and damage effect of reactive materials in air and argon environments

To investigate the impact of energy release of reactive material on its damage effect, a modified test chamber was developed to conduct vented chamber tests and penetration tests in both air and argon environments of Al/Ti and Al/TI/W reactive projectiles. The deformation volumes obtained from the scanning results were employed to characterize the damage effect of the reactive materials on multi-spaced plate targets. Several key results include the following: Despite its lower energy density, the Al/Ti/W composite exhibits higher energy release efficiency than the Al/Ti composite. This is attributed to the lower strength of the material, causing it to fragment into finer debris upon impact, thereby facilitating easier ignition and reaction. The Al/Ti/W projectiles induce a significant deformation volume in the plates during penetration tests but exhibit a decrease in penetrative capacity. This phenomenon is attributed to the mechanical characteristics of the Al/Ti/W materials rather than the energy release upon impact. The deflagration of reactive materials during impact does not significantly enhance the structural damage of the target, at least at impact velocities below 1200 m/s.