Experimental and numerical research on additional vehicles protection against explosives

The article presents an experimental and numerical study on the effectiveness of an additional shield mounted under the vehicles in reducing the penetration capability of the scattered mines, using the example of the MN-123 mine. For this purpose, the formation of the EFP (explosive formed penetrator) was analyzed for the classic scattered mine system with a double EFP-shaped charge. Then, after validating the numerical results against the experiment for the static tensile test, the authors performed a numerical analysis for a protective structure made of elastomer, placed between the mine and the bottom of the protected vehicle (parallel to the ground surface). Three variants of the thickness of the rubber element from 10 to 30 mm were analyzed in order to determine the impact of the shield thickness on the EFP formation process. In the final phase, the selected system was experimentally tested on a military training ground. The results obtained indicate that the use of analyzed shielding protecting bottom part of vehicles against mines and EFPs can significantly decrease the mine penetration capability. In addition, the use of the smoothed-particle hydrodynamic (SPH) method to describe the formation of the EFP projectile allowed to take into account the highly dynamic nature of the phenomenon. A novelty in the applied study is the use of an elastomeric cover in the immediate vicinity of the mine, which limits the EFP formation process and also limits the speed of the projectile. This is crucial because the key factor determining the penetrating capabilities of EFP is the high kinetic energy of the formed projectile. Based on the research conducted, areas of potential application of this type of covers can be distinguished. These will primarily be all types of heavy, armored vehicles moving in armed conflict zones, exposed to mines/IEDs/EFPs, such as armored infantry fighting vehicles and tanks.