Predicting the penetration and perforation of FRP laminates struck normally by projectiles with different nose shapes

Abstract

Simple relationships are given in this paper to predict the penetration and perforation of monolithic fibre-reinforced plastic (FRP) laminates struck normally by projectiles with different nose shapes over a wide range of impact velocity. The approach is based on the assumption that the deformation is localized and that the mean pressure offered by the laminate targets to resist the projectiles can be decomposed into two parts. One part is a cohesive quasi-static resistive pressure due to the elastic–plastic deformation of the laminate materials. The other is a dynamic resistive pressure arising from velocity effects. Equations are obtained for predicting the depth of penetration (DOP) in the FRP laminate targets and the ballistic limits in the case of perforation. It is shown that the model predictions are in good correlation with available experimental data.