On the penetration of rigid spheres in metallic targets

Abstract

We present an empirical relation for the penetration depths of rigid spheres impacting metallic targets at ordnance velocities. This relation was derived through 2D numerical simulations for various sphere/target pairs, that followed their penetration depths in terms of the impact velocity, the sphere/target density ratio, and the dynamic strength of the target. The numerically derived empirical relation is shown to account for test data from several publications.