Numerical Model of the Plastic Failure Behavior of Projectile Impacting Semi-Infinite Metal Target Plate

Plastic failure of the projectile is a key phenomenon in high-velocity impact events, which leads to shear sharpening for penetration and, in another way, induces the decrease of kinetic energy for protection. Thus, studying the plastic failure of the projectile is full of interest for impact engineering. The transient impact process involves complex physical origins, and this topic has a challenge in science and technology. In this work, a new physics-based numerical model of flat-ended projectile impacting semi-infinite metal target plate at a high velocity is proposed. The plastic deformation and failure of the projectile and the resultant mass loss, the pit-opening performance of the target plate as well as the energy distribution are theoretically calculated, and thus the impact response of both the projectile and target plate is revealed. With timing, the length, upsetting deformation and failure-induced mass loss of the projectile, the pit-opening depth of the target plate and the projectile-target contact force are quantitatively given. Correspondingly, the panoramic view of plastic failure behavior is quantitatively drawn. The numerical results show that the failure-induced mass loss of the projectile increases with the increase of initial impact velocity of the projectile that significantly dissipates the kinetic energy accompanying the plastic deformation of the projectile and pit-opening of the target plate. This numerical model is based on the intrinsic physical mechanisms and offers an effective computational method for quantitatively analyzing the high-velocity impact events.