Large plastic deformation of spherical shells under impact by blunt-ended missiles

A procedure is given in this paper to estimate the large plastic deformation of spherical shells subjected to impact by blunt-ended missiles. Based on the experimental observations for the quasi-static load-displacement characteristics, the problem of a spherical shell under impact by a blunt missile can be analysed through the solutions to that of an equivalent circular plate struck transversely by the same missile. It is demonstrated that the approximate theoretical predictions using this method are in good agreement with the experimental data in terms of the maximum permanent transverse displacements and the dimple radii. (C) 1997 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.