Reactive material fragment is an extremely efficient damage enhancement technology that incorporates the defeat mechanisms of kinetic energy and chemical energy. In this paper, the polymer-based reactive material fragment/target interactions are investigated. Related dynamic testing techniques for energy release characteristics of reactive material fragments are presented, and a series of ballistic experiments is conducted. The results show the reactive material fragment, which perforates the closed test chamber, undergoes a violent chemical reaction under highly dynamic loads and releases great amounts of thermo-chemical energy on the interior. The impact-initiated process and energy release behavior are markedly influenced by the impact velocity, indicating the material’s fracture is of importance to the reaction. A relationship between the maximum pressure inside the chamber and the reaction efficiency is derived to analyze the influence quantitatively, and the venting effects are also considered.

Impact-induced initiation and energy release behavior of reactive materials

Penetration behavior of reactive liner shaped charge jet impacting thick steel plates

Granular composites consisting of aluminium (Al), tungsten (W) and polytetraflouroethylene (PTFE) are typical energetic materials, which possess high density and strength along with other advantageous properties. To investigate the mechanical behaviour of Al/W/PTFE granular composites, compression tests of three Al/W/PTFE mixtures under quasi-static loading and high strain rate conditions were conducted on a CSS-44100 Materials Testing System and a Split-Hopkinson Pressure Bar (SHPB), respectively. By employing Al bars, the amplitude of the transmitted signal was significantly enhanced and a high signal-to-noise ratio was obtained. This enhancement was due to the decreased Young's modulus of the bars, which led to increased signal amplitude from the strain gauges. The Al/W/PTFE granular composites were processed using a cold isostatic pressing and vacuum sintering approach. In this work, the fracture modes and stress-strain relationships of Al/W/PTFE composites with mass ratios of Al:W:PTFE of 24:0:76, 12:50:38 and 5.5:77:17.5 were studied. A detailed discussion is provided to cover the effect that tungsten addition, strain rate and mass ratio have on the deformation behaviour of the composites. The results show that the mass ratio plays a significant role in determining the dynamic behaviour and failure modes of the composites. Both the Al/W/PTFE (24:0:76) and the Al/W/PTFE (12:50:38) composites are strain rate dependent, elasto-plastic materials characterised by increased yield stress with increased strain rate. However, the Al/W/PTFE (5.5:77:17.5) composite is a brittle material, which shows brittle fracture at a relatively low strain.

Experimental study of the compression properties of Al/W/PTFE granular composites under elevated strain rates

Simulation of damage and failure processes of interpenetrating SiC/Al composites subjected to dynamic compressive loading

The penetration enhancement behaviors of a reactive material double-layered liner (RM-DLL) shaped charge against thick steel targets are investigated. The RM-DLL comprises an inner copper liner, coupled with an outer PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene)/Al reactive material liner, fabricated via a cold pressing/sintering process. This RM-DLL shaped charge presents a novel defeat mechanism that incorporates the penetration capability of a precursor copper jet and the chemical energy release of a follow-thru reactive material penetrator. Experimental results showed that, compared with the single reactive liner shaped charge jet, a deeper penetration depth was produced by the reactive material-copper jet, whereas the penetration performance and reactive material mass entering the penetrated target strongly depended on the reactive liner thickness and standoff. To further illustrate the penetration enhancement mechanism, numerical simulations based on AUTODYN-2D code were conducted. Numerical results indicated that, with increasing reactive liner thickness, the initiation delay time of the reactive materials increased significantly, which caused the penetration depth and the follow-thru reactive material mass to increase for a given standoff. This new RM-DLL shaped charge configuration provides an extremely efficient method to enhance the penetration damage to various potential targets, such as armored fighting vehicles, naval vessels, and concrete targets.

https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/12/17/2768/pdf

W. Mock

Papers

Modeling the impact deformation of rods of a pressed PTFE/Al composite mixture