More on the Perforation and Deep Penetration of Metallic Targets by Rigid Sharp-Nosed Projectiles

We revisit the perforation and penetration processes of sharp-nosed rigid projectiles impacting metallic targets. The perforation of a metallic plate is reanalyzed through the effective resisting stress which the plate exerts on the projectile during perforation. These stresses are shown to asymptotically reach the expected values for very thick plates (semi-infinite targets), at plate thicknesses of about thirty projectile diameters. We also revisit the resistance of semi-infinite metallic targets to the penetration of rigid projectiles with various nose shapes. The new relation we derive for this resistance includes the target’s bulk and shear moduli, as well as the nose shape of the projectile. In addition, we derive a new expression for the contribution of the entrance phase to the total penetration of rigid projectiles having various nose shapes.