Oblique Penetration of Spherical Projectile into Low-Carbon Steel Target: Experiment, Theory, 3D Penetration Model

Abstract: To solve the ballistic limit and trajectory deflection angle of a spherical projectile after oblique penetration of a finite-thickness mild steel plate, a ballistic penetration model and its construction method are proposed, which combine the theory of cavity expansion penetration, the practice of projectile and target separation modeling, the technique of shooting line projectile-target intersection. The critical algorithms and calculation steps required to construct the penetration model in three-dimensional space are systematically described. Subsequently, the experiments of 93W spherical projectiles with 6mm diameter penetrating 4, 6, and 8 mm Q345 steel targets at angles of 0°, 20°, and 40° are carried, and obtain the penetration ballistic limit and trajectory. Finally, according to the experiment results, the calculation accuracy of the model is checked, and the results show that the ballistic limit calculation maximum errors for 4, 6, and 8 mm Q345 steel targets are 6.69, 18.24, and 16%. The main work of this paper shows that the penetration model established in this paper can accurately calculate the problem of spherical projectile penetrating finite thickness targets and can provide a new solution method for the problem of projectile penetration.