Experimental Investigation on the Ballistic Performance of 45 Steel Metal Plates Subjected to Impact by Hemispherical-Nosed Projectiles

A series of impact tests were conducted to investigate the ballistic performances of single, double- and three-layered 45 steel plates subjected to impact by hemispherical-nosed projectiles which were made from 38CrSi and diameter was 12.7 mm, the impact velocities ranged from 240 m/s to 600 m/s. The multi-layered plates arranged in various combinations of the same total thicknesses were normally impacted with the help of a gas gun. The initial and residual velocities of the projectiles were measured, and also the ballistic limit velocity for each configuration target was obtained and compared based on the investigation of the effect of the number of layers on the ballistic resistance. The results indicated that the ballistic limit velocity of multi-layered plate was higher than that of monolithic plate. The dominant failure model of monolithic plate was shearing, but the dominant failure models of multi-layered plate were global dishing and local bulging. Moreover, the failure models of plates of multi-layered plates were in relation to their order.