Reaction characteristic of PTFE/Al/Cu/Pb composites and application in shaped charge liner

In this paper, the reaction characteristic and its application in shaped charge warhead of a novel reactive material, which introduced copper (Cu) and plumbum (Pb) into traditional polytetrafluoroethylene/aluminum (PTFE/Al), are studied. The thermal analysis and chemical reaction behavior of the PTFE/Al/Cu/Pb mixture are investigated by Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC),Thermo-gravimetry (TG), and X-ray Diffraction (XRD) techniques. Then, the shaped charge liners with PTFE/Al/Cu/Pb reactive materials are fabricated, and the X-ray experiments show that they could form reactive jets with excellent performance under the detonation effects of the shaped charge. Based on that, the penetration experiments of shaped charge with PTFE/Al/Cu/Pb reactive liner against steel plates are carried out, and the results demonstrate that the PTFE/Al/Cu/Pb reactive jets could produce a deeper penetration depth compared to the traditional PTFE/Al reactive jets. Meanwhile, the PTFE/Al/Cu/Pb reactive jets also show significant inner-blast effects, leading to dramatically cracking or fragmentation behavior of the penetrated steel plates. This new PTFE/Al/Cu/Pb reactive liner shaped charge presents enhanced penetration behavior for steel targets that incorporates the penetration capability of a high-density and ductility jet, and the chemical energy release of PTFE-matrix reactive materials.     

Chain damage effects of multi-spaced plates by reactive jet impact

Chain damage is a new phenomenon that occurs when a reactive jet impacts and penetrates multi-spaced plates.The reactive jet produces mechanical perforations on the spaced plates by its kinetic energy(KE),and then results in unusual chain rupturing effects and excessive structural damage on the spaced plates by its deflagration reaction.In the present study,the chain damage behavior is initially demonstrated by experiments.The reactive liners,composed of 26 wt％Al and 74 wt％PTFE,are fabricated through a pressing and sintering process.Three reactive liner thicknesses of 0.08 CD,0.10 CD and 0.12 CD(charge diameter)are chosen to carry out the chain damage experiments.The results show a chain rupturing phenomenon caused by reactive jet.The constant reaction delay time and the different penetration velocities of reactive jets from liners with different thicknesses result in the variation of the deflagration position,which consequently determines the number of ruptured plates behind the armor.Then,the finite-element code AUTODYN-3D has been used to simulate the kinetic energy only-induced rupturing effects on plates,based on the mechanism of behind armor debris(BAD).The significant discrepancies between simulations and experiments indicate that one enhanced damage mechanism,the behind armor blast(BAB),has acted on the ruptured plates.Finally,a theoretical model is used to consider the BAB-induced enhancement,and the analysis shows that the rupturing area on aluminum plates depends strongly upon the KE only-induced pre-perforations,the mass of reactive materials,and the thickness of plates.     

Influence of a liquid-filled compartment structure on the incoming shaped charge jet stability

Liquid-filled compartment structure consists of a bulk steel plate with matrix blind holes which are filled with liquid and a steel front plate to seal up the liquid with rings and bolts.The liquid-filled compart-ment structure can resist the shaped charge warhead effectively.This paper presents experimental and theoretical investigations of the penetration ability of the residual shaped charge jet emerging from the liquid-filled compartment structure after the penetration process at different impact angles.On the basis of shock wave propagation theory,the influence of the liquid-filled compartment structure on jet sta-bility is analysed.The interferences of the liquid backflow caused by a reflected shock wave and a back plate on jet stability under different impact angles are also examined.In addition,the range of the disturbed velocity segments of the jet at different impact angles and the penetration ability of the re-sidual jet are obtained.A theoretical model is validated against the experimental penetration depths.     

Shaped charge penetration into high- and ultrahigh-strength Steel–Fiber reactive powder concrete targets

Experiments on shaped charge penetration into high and ultrahigh strength steel-fiber reactive powder concrete (RPC) targets were performed in this paper. Results show that the variation of penetration depth and crater diameter with concrete strength is different from that of shaped charge penetration into normal strength concrete (NSC). The crater diameter of RPC is smaller than that of NSC penetrated by the shaped charge. The jet particles are strongly disturbed and hardly reach the crater bottom because they pass through the narrow channel formed by jet penetration into the RPC. The effects of radial drift velocity and gap effects of jet particles for a shaped charge penetration into RPC target are discussed. Moreover, a theoretical model is presented to describe the penetration of shaped charge into RPC target. As the concrete strength increases, the penetration resistance increases and the entrance crater diameter decreases. Given the drift velocity and narrow crater channel, the low-velocity jet particles can hardly reach the crater bottom to increase the penetration depth. Moreover, the narrow channel has a stronger interference to the jet particles with increasing concrete strength; hence, the gap effects must be considered. The drift velocity and gap effects, which are the same as penetration resistance, also have significant effects during the process of shaped charge penetration into ultrahigh-strength concrete. The crater profiles are calculated through a theoretical model, and the results are in good agreement with the experiments.     

A study on the surface overpressure distribution and formation of a double curvature liner under a two-point initiation

The formation mechanism of an EFP(explosively formed projectile) using a double curvature liner under the overpressure effect generated by a regular oblique reflection was investigated in this paper.Based on the detonation wave propagation theory,the change of the incident angle of the detonation wave collision at different positions and the distribution area of the overpressure on the surface of the liner were calculated.Three-dimensional numerical simulations of the formation process of the EFP with tail as well as the ability to penetrate 45# steel were performed using LS-DYNA software,and the EFP ve-locity,the penetration ability,and the forming were assessed via experiments and x-ray photographs.The experimental results coincides with those of the simulations.Results indicate that the collision of the detonation wave was controlled to be a regular oblique reflection acting on the liner by setting the di-mensions of the unit charge and maintaining the pressure at the collision point region at more than 2.4 times the CJ detonation when the incident angle approached the critical angle.The distance from the liner midline to the boundary of the area within which the pressure ratio of the regular oblique reflection pressure to the CJ detonation pressure was greater than 2.5,2,and 1.5was approximately 0.66 mm,1.32 mm,and 3.3 mm,respectively.It is noted that pressure gradient caused the liner to turn inside out in the middle to form the head of the EFP and close the two tails of the EFP at approximately 120μs.The penetration depth of the EFP into a 45# steel target exceeded 30 mm,and there was radial expansion between the head and tail of the EFE increasing the penetration resistance of the EFP.Therefore,the structural size of the unit charge and the liner can be further optimized to reduce resistance to increase the penetration ability of the EFP.     

Experimental and numerical investigation of zirconium jet performance with different liner shapes design

This paper studies the shaped charge jet performance in terms of different liner shapes including conical,bell,hemispherical and bi-conical liners.The critical angles and the relevant flow velocities for the zir-conium liner material were calculated analytically and numerically using Autodyn hydro-code.The relationship between the critical collapse angle and the flow velocity was determined for the conditions of jet formation and coherency.Penetration tests according to the standard testing procedures of API-RP34 (Section-Ⅱ) were performed to validate the numerical predictions of the jet performance of the studied liners.It was found that the four shaped charge liners all produced coherent jets with different performances.The penetration depth of the shaped charges with the bell and the bi-conical liner shapes increased by 10.3％ and 22％,respectively,while the crater diameter of shaped charge with hemispherical liner increased by 85％ representing the formation of an explosively-formed-projectile (EFP),when they are compared with the corresponding jet characteristics of a conical liner shaped charge.     

Evaluation of effectiveness of polymer coatings in reducing blast-induced deformation of steel plates

Incorporating elastomers such as polymers in protective structures to withstand high energetic dynamic loads, has gained significant interest. The main objective of this study is to investigate the influence of a Polyurea coating towards the blast-induced response in steel plates. As such, Polyurea coated steel plates were tested under near-field blast loads, produced by the detonation of 1 kg of spherical nitromethane charges, at a standoff distance of 150 mm. Mild steel (XLERPLATE 350) and high-strength steel (BIS80) plates with thicknesses of 10 mm were Polyurea coated with thicknesses of 6 mm and 12 mm on either the front (facing the charge) or the back face. The deformation profiles were measured using 3D scanning. Numerical simulations were performed using the non-linear finite element code LS-DYNA. The strain-dependent behaviour of the steel and Polyurea were represented by Johnson-cook and Money-Rivlin constitutive models, respectively. The numerical models were validated by comparing the plate deflection results obtained from the experiments and were then used in the subsequent parametric study to investigate the optimum thickness of the Polyurea coating. The results indicate that back face coating contributes towards an approximately 20% reduction in the residual deformation as well as the absence of melting of the Polyurea layer, while the front-face coating can be used a means of providing additional standoff distance to the steel plates.     

A numerical study on the disturbance of explosive reactive armors to jet penetration

The disturbance of flat and V-shaped sandwich reactive armor configurations to shaped-charge jet is studied by a numerical approach. The disturbing and cutting effects of the two reactive armor configurations to the jet are successfully captured. The predicted disturbance characteristics and patterns are in fairly good agreement with the X-ray photographic observations. The residual depth of penetration into a semi-infinitive homogeneous steel target behind the reactive armor is computed for a series of jet/armor parameters. For the flat configuration, it is demonstrated that the residual penetration depth is not significantly reduced for a normal impact while it is reduced up to 75% for an oblique impact. In comparison, the V-shaped configuration reduces the penetration depth of the jet to 90%, and it is observed that the penetration depth is not sensitive to the V-shaped angle.     

聚能射流侵彻下舰船钢与均质钢的等效关系

基于剩余穿深理论,依据聚能射流对钢靶板侵彻毁伤作用机理,推导出2种等效模型,并结合数值模拟建立了聚能射流侵彻下某舰船装甲钢与603钢靶板的等效关系。结果表明:当舰船钢厚度较小时,舰船钢与603装甲钢的等效厚度比约为1;当舰船钢厚度较大时,两者等效厚度比约为1.13。由此等效关系可给出用于战斗部考核性穿靶试验中相应均质靶板的确定厚度,从而为用603装甲钢靶代替该舰船钢进行聚能射流威力考核试验提供依据,达到了简化、经济、方便、有效的目的。     

聚能射流形成过程的理论建模与分析

分析了聚能射流的形成过程,并对其中的各阶段进行了详细建模。在模型中考虑了炸药爆轰、金属的驱动、药型罩压垮以及射流和杵体的形成过程。采用该模型对某一聚能装药结构进行了计算,计算结果表明:药型罩顶部和底部微元的压垮速度较小,在射流头部形成反向速度梯度,与试验数据吻合较好。该模型对于多级侵彻战斗部的工程设计与侵彻参数的计算具有一定的参考价值。     

多孔材料药型罩聚能射流的形成条件

依据Herrmann状态方程和斜冲击波关系估算了多孔材料药型罩压垮之前的冲击温升,求解了经过冲击压缩卸载后材料的声速。给出了多孔材料药型罩聚能射流的形成条件。初始冲击温升会使材料的声速和强度降低,从而使多孔材料聚能射流形成射流的高速和低速条件降低。     

Investigate the effects of magnetic fields on the penetration ability of a shaped charge jet at different standoffs

The influence of a magnetic field on the stability of a shaped charge jet is experimentally investigated at standoffs of 490, 650 and 800 mm. The experimental results without and with the magnetic field are compared in terms of the shaped charge jet form, stability and penetration ability. A theoretical model based on one-dimension fluid dynamics is then developed to assess the depth of penetration of the shaped charge at those three standoffs and magnetic conditions. The results show that the penetration capability can be enhanced in more than 70% by the magnetic field. The theoretical calculations are compared with the experimental results with reasonably good correlation. In addition, the parameters introduced in the theory are discussed together with the experiments at three standoffs studied.     

Investigation on the influence of the initial RDX crystal size on the performance of shaped charge warheads

Copper lined wave shaped shaped charges of particular design and liner metallurgy were used to investigate the effect of explosive crystal size on the resultant shaped charge jet parameters. Composition A3 with RDX of three different average crystal sizes, i.e. 30 μm, 100 μm and 300 μm were used in the investigation. All other parameters in the charge were kept constant and in particular, care was given to obtain consistent dimensional quality and liner microstructure, in order to prohibit the variation of other parameters. Specific flash-X-ray diagnostics were used in field tests to obtain the jet parameters from multiple firings of similar charges. It is found that the varying crystal size of the RDX has a marginal influence in the total jet length of the jets. However, it is also found that there is less variation between firings in the jet parameters for jets from the charges loaded with the crystal size of 100 μm.     

Theoretical and numerical simulation study on jet formation and penetration of different liner structures driven by electromagnetic pressure

The use of a shaped liner driven by electromagnetic force is a new means of forming jets. To study the mechanism of jet formation driven by electromagnetic force, we considered the current skin effect and the characteristics of electromagnetic loading and established a coupling model of"Electric—Magnetic—Force"and the theoretical model of jet formation under electromagnetic force. The jet formation and penetration of conical and trumpet liners have been calculated. Then, a numerical simulation of liner collapse under electromagnetic force, jet generation, and the stretching motion were performed using an ANSYS multiphysics processor. The calculated jet velocity, jet shape, and depth of penetration were consistent with the experimental results, with a relative error of less than 10％. In addition, we calculated the jet formation of different curvature trumpet liners driven by the same loading condition and ob-tained the influence rule of the curvature of the liner on jet formation. Results show that the theoretical model and the ANSYS multiphysics numerical method can effectively calculate the jet formation of liners driven by electromagnetic force, and in a certain range, the greater the curvature of the liner is, the greater the jet velocity is.     

Influence of shaped charge structure parameters on the formation of linear explosively formed projectiles

The research of LEFP (linear explosive forming projectile) is of great value to the development of new warhead due to its excellent performance. To further improve the damage ability of the shaped charge warhead, a special shell overhanging structure was designed to increase the charge based on the traditional spherical charge, in which case the crushing energy of LEFP could be guaranteed. LS-DYNA was used to simulate different charge structures obtained by changing the number of detonation points, the length of shell platform, the radius of curvature and the thickness of liner. The RSM (response surface model) between the molding parameters of LEFP and the structural parameters of charge was established. Based on RSM model, the structure of shaped charge was optimized by using multi-objective genetic algorithm. Meanwhile, the formation process of jet was analyzed by pulsed X-ray photography. The results show that the velocity, length-diameter ratio and specific kinetic energy of the LEFP were closely related to the structural parameters of the shaped charge. After the optimization of charge structure, the forming effect and penetration ability of LEPP had been significantly improved. The experimental data of jet velocity and length were consistent with the numerical results, which verifies the reliability of the numerical results.     

Study on energy release characteristics of reactive material casings under explosive loading

Reactive Materials (RMs), a new material with structural and energy release characteristics under shock-induced chemical reactions, are promising in extensive applications in national defense and military fields. They can increase the lethality of warheads due to their dual functionality. This paper focuses on the energy release characteristics of RM casings prepared by alloy melting and casting process under explosive loading. Explosion experiments of RM and conventional 2A12 aluminum alloy casings were conducted in free field to capture the explosive fireballs, temperature distribution, peak overpressure of the air shock wave and the fracture morphology of fragments of reactive material (RM) warhead casings by using high-speed camera, infrared thermal imager temperature and peak overpressure testing and scanning electron microscope. Results showed that an increase of both the fireball temperature and air shock wave were observed in all RM casings compared to conventional 2A12 aluminum ally casings. The RM casings can improve the peak overpressure of the air shock wave under explosion loading, though the results are different with different charge ratios. According to the energy release characteristics of the RM, increasing the thickness of RM casings will increase the peak overpressure of the near-field air shock wave, while reducing the thickness will increase the peak overpressure of the far-field air shock wave.     

Experimental investigation on enhanced damage to fuel tanks by reactive projectiles impact

Enhanced damage to the full-filled fuel tank,impacted by the cold pressed and sintered PTFE/AL/W reactive material projectile(RMP)with a density of 7.8 g/cm3,is investigated experimentally and theoretically.The fuel tank is a rectangular structure,welded by six pieces of 2024 aluminum plate with a thickness of 6 mm,and filled with RP-3 aviation kerosene.Experimental results show that the kerosene is ignited by the RMP impact at a velocity above 1062 m/s,and a novel interior ignition phenomenon which is closely related to the rupture effect of the fuel tank is observed.However,the traditional steel projectile with the same mass and dimension requires a velocity up to 1649 m/s to ignite the kerosene.Based on the experimental results,the radial pressure field is considered to be the main reason for the shear failure of weld.For mechanism considerations,the chemical energy released by the RMP enhances the hydrodynamic ram(HRAM)effect and provides additional ignition sources inside the fuel tank,thereby enhancing both rupture and ignition effects.Moreover,to further understand the enhanced ignition effect of RMP,the reactive debris temperature inside the kerosene is analyzed theoretically.The initiated reactive debris with high temperature provides effective interior ignition sources to ignite the kerosene,resulting in the enhanced ignition of the kerosene.     

Study of simple plane wave generator with an air-metal barrier

Plane wave generators (PWGs) are used to accelerate flyer plates to high velocities with their generated plane waves, which are widely used in the test of dynamic properties of materials. The traditional PWG is composed of two explosives with different detonation velocities. It is difficult to implement the related fabrication processes and control the generated waves due to its complicated structures. A simple plane wave generator is presented in this paper, which is composed of two identical cylindrical high explosive (HE) charges and an air-metal barrier. A theoretical model was established based on two different paths of the propagation of detonation waves, based on which the size of air-metal barrier was calculated for a given charge. The corresponding numerical simulations were also carried out by AUTODYN-2D^® based on the calculated results, which were used to compare with the theoretical calculations. A detonation wave with a flatness of 0.039 μs within the range of 70-percent diameter of the main charge was obtained through the simulations.     

超声速气流中液体横向射流组合喷注特性实验

以液态燃料为动力的超燃冲压发动机中,液体横向射流在超声速气流中的喷注、混合和雾化特性直接影响了超燃冲压发动机燃烧室的工作效率。提出一种基于高速摄影的图像处理方法,此方法能消除图像处理过程中的人为因素干扰,得到唯一、定量的射流振荡的边界信息;提出一种基于粒子图像测速法的射流展向扩展边界获取方法,能得到射流破碎后形成液滴所能达到的最远距离;基于以上两种图像处理方法和对比实验研究了单孔喷注、展向组合和沿流向组合的喷注方式对射流穿透深度、展向扩展和激波角的影响,结果表明:相比单孔喷注方式,展向组合和沿流向组合的喷注方式均能增大射流的穿透深度,且能增大射流的展向扩展角和展向扩展范围;随着沿流向布置的喷孔间距的增大,射流的穿透深度增大。