Abstract:
In recent times, the armor industry has experienced substantial growth, accompanied by
significant financial investments aimed at developing and testing new armor solutions.
Conducting ballistic studies through experimental setups incurs high costs and involves
intricate procedures, incorporating numerous sensors and advanced imaging technology.
Despite the reliability of experimental data, it often falls short of capturing all essential
parameters. Consequently, extensive research is underway to formulate numerical and
analytical models that can precisely predict the ballistic performance of novel armor materials
and designs.
This thesis undertakes an exploration of the ballistic behavior of both monolithic and multilayered target sheets against blunt projectiles. Various impact phenomena, including
Adiabatic Shear Localization, Thermal Plastic Instabilities, and high stress gradients, have
been modeled utilizing an explicit analysis solver based on the Finite Element Method
(FEM). This involves the use of appropriate strength, failure, and shockwave models for both
brittle and ductile materials. The chosen target configurations were subjected to testing
against blunt projectiles traveling at velocities ranging from 100 to 500 m/s. The results of
impact simulations have been carefully compared with experimental data.
The thesis delves into the ballistic performance of multilayered targets constructed from
different combinations of materials such as Weldox 460E, Al 7075 T6, and SiC, each with
varying thicknesses. Furthermore, the prevalent failure modes in each case were observed and
identified. The study demonstrates that FEM-based simulations, employing meticulously
chosen material properties and computational models, yield highly comparable outcomes to
experimental data. Ultimately, the thesis presents a comprehensive analysis of three distinct
multi-layered target configurations composed of different materials, when subjected to the
impact of a blunt projectile.
