Studies on mass abrasion of EPW-overviews

Earth penetration weapon (EPW) is applicable for attacking the underground targets protected by reinforced concrete and rocks. Although the projectile is usually treated as rigid in theoretical analysis, the mass abrasion does occur in penetration process, which changes the nose shape and geometry of penetrator, and thus possibly affects the penetration efficiency. It even may lead to the damage or failure of projectiles. The mass loss is of great importance for understanding high-speed penetration. This paper presents some research work done by the authors on this area. It includes the mass abrasion model of KE penetrator, the limit analyses of DOP of penetrator as well as the studies of performance of high-speed penetrator. Finally, some suggestions for future research are proposed.