Constitutive Modeling and Validation of Sintered Metal Powders Subjected to Large Strains and High Strain Rates

The development of advanced small caliber weapon systems has resulted in rounds with more material penetration capabilities. The increased capabilities may mean that existing live-fire facilities will no longer be adequate for the training and certification of military and law enforcement personnel, which could result in training constraints and possibly expensive upgrades to improve the safety of existing facilities. New training ammunition manufactured from novel structural materials are needed to allow for the safe, continued use of live-fire shoot house facilities. The goal of this project is to characterize a sintered metal powder and fit a suitable constitutive model for simulation in support of numerical design. A pressed and sintered blend of copper-tin was selected as a suitable representative material for this application. Samples were tested in uniaxial compression under quasi-static conditions and elevated temperatures. Dynamic compression testing at strain rates up to approximately 105 s−1 was conducted using a split-Hopkinson bar. The results of these tests were then used to fit Johnson-Cook and Zerilli-Armstrong strength models to the test data. The models were fit by selecting points from test data at different strain rates and elevated temperatures. This system of equations was then solved for each model while using the same test data to ensure a fair comparison of the results. A Mie-Gruneisen equation of state for the material was estimated using a rule of mixtures and existing shock and particle velocity data. Taylor cylinder tests were conducted and the rate of change in length was measured using high-speed video. Simulation of the Taylor tests was conducted using the developed strength and equation of state model and compared to the experimental results for model validation and comparison. Both the Johnson-Cook and Zerilli-Armstrong models resulted in less than 1% error of the Taylor cylinder results before material fracture. Further development of a fracture model for this material is recommended for use in high strain rate modeling applications.