Parametric studies on mass loss of penetrator

Earth penetration weapon (EPW) is applicable for attacking underground targets protected by reinforced concrete and rocks. As impact velocity increasing, the mass loss of projectile increases, which may induce the instability of terminal ballistics of pcnetrator, and lead to the damage or failure of projectiles. The current formulae for estimating mass loss of penetrator have a common fault being dependent on experimental results, which limits their applications. After combination of the work of Jones et al.(2002) and Silling et al. (2007) [1-2], the mass loss of EPW can be determined by seven parameters, i.e., the initial impact velocity, initial nose shape, melting heat, shank diameter of projectile and density and strength of target as well as aggregate hardness of target. The further discussion of sensitivity of mass loss to these seven parameters may be helpful in the either defensive or offensive objectives, respectively.