Penetration of sandwich plates with hybrid-cores under oblique ballistic impact

Abstract

The oblique penetration performance of lightweight hybrid-cored sandwich plates are investigated numerically. To compose the hybrid-core, ceramic prisms are inserted into pyramidal metal lattice trusses and fixed using epoxy resin. Three-dimensional finite element simulations are carried out for the hybridcored sandwich impacted at 15°, 30°, 45°, and 60° obliquity by a hemispherical projectile. The ballistic limit, the energy absorbed by the constituting elements, and the critical oblique angle are quantified. The physical mechanisms underlying the failure and the influence of fundamental system parameters are explored. The angle of obliquity is found to have significant influence on the ballistic trajectory and erosion of the projectile, thus it is important for the impact response and penetration resistance of the sandwich. For oblique angles equal to or larger than 45°, the projectile moves mainly horizontally and can not effectively penetrate across the sandwich.