Experimental and numerical studies of cylindrical projectile high-velocity impact on steel targets in water

This paper presents an experimental and numerical study on the impacts of cylindrical projectiles against A3 steel targets in a water-filled tank to study the water effects in the underwater penetration problems in ordnance velocity regime. A digital high-speed camera system is used to photograph the projectile motion and penetration process within the tank. Experimental tests and relevant simulations without water were also conducted for the purpose of comparison. Numerical simulations of the projectile impact on the targets were conducted using the non-linear finite element code AUTODYN-2D. The results show that the water has an important role in affecting the energy absorption mechanism of targets, thus leading to the target different deformation in size. A hydro-ballistic trajectory model was also proposed in the present study. Good agreement is found between the numerical simulations and the experimental results.