EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION ON THE DAMAGE EFFECT TO PARTIALLY FILLED FUEL TANKS BY REACTIVE MATERIAL PROJECTILE IMPACT

To explore the potential of PTFE/Al/W reactive material projectile (RMP) in damaging the partially filled fuel tanks, a series of ballistic experiments have been conducted to investigate the damage effect. The experimental results show that both the impact position and the impact velocity of the RMP have significant influence on the damage behavior. For mechanism consideration, the energy release characteristics of RMP closely related to the impact velocity; meanwhile, the fuel/air mixture layer is more flammable than the liquid fuel, and the impact-induced high-temperature deflagration of RMP can generate enough ignition sources. However, when the fuel tank does not disintegrate under the impact, the stored liquid fuel will not spurt out and mix with the surrounding air, only leading to flash-ignition. The sustained combustion only occurs when the RMP successfully causes the fuel tank to disintegrate.