CFM 2019

Impact of soft projectiles on rigid targets: modelling and impact pressure measurement attempt
Michel Arrigoni  1@  , Razvan Mircioaga, Jean Christophe Walrick, Gilles Jago@
1 : ensta bretagne
ENSTA Bretagne, Ensta-Bretagne

Impact engineering has been extensively investigated through numerous studies about terminal ballistic of metallic projectiles (bullets, fragments) on solid targets. It iconizes the fight between the sword and the shield. However, more and more attention is given to soft targets and soft projectiles. On the one hand, military medicine has been focused on the wounds and lethal effects of metallic projectiles on soft targets. On the other hand, anti-riot forces have expressed the need for non-lethal projectiles. Under mechanical considerations, non-lethal projectiles made of elastomers are similar to a bird strike on a plate: they can be considered as soft bodies impacting semi rigid surfaces. This problem still meets some issues when predictive models are required. The prediction of the mechanical behavior of soft bodies at high strain rate remains indeed a challenge in mechanical engineering. Therefore, in order to evaluate the mechanical effects during soft impacts, experiments have been carried out at ENSTA Bretagne, using a soft-nosed kinetic impact projectile, ballasted with steel in order to increase its kinetic energy. The projectile was accelerated by a gas gun and thrown onto a rigid steel target instrumented by a piezoelectric polymer made of PolyVyniliDinediFluoride (PVDF) to measure the impact pressure. The impact process was recorded with a rapid camera. Results are presented and have been the object of a fine element modelling in explicit scheme. They show some advances in the practice of soft impact modelling and experiments.


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