A Comparative Study of Damage Performance of the Kill Element from Different Materials

Abstract

For the design of the novel anti-explosive reactive armor tandem warhead, a prerequisite is to improve the reaming capacity and the damage performance of the preceding kill element so that the channel is ready for the subsequent penetration by the kill element. Meanwhile, the selection of appropriate shaped charge liner material in the warhead could help enhance the integrated penetration performance of the kill element. Traditional shaped-charge liners made of metals or metal alloys with high density, high sound speed and good ductility are capable of forming a good-shape and stable jet kill element, which also demonstrate the advantages of large impact and high-performance penetration depth against the target. When the traditional liners are used to impact reactive armor, however, the weak reaming capacity and easily-induced charge explosions prevent the subsequent penetration of kill element into the main armor. In addition, the jet kill element formed by shaped-charge liners with low-density materials generally displays a low penetration depth against the reactive armor. In the present study, filled modifiedpolytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) was selected as the material ofthe shaped charge liner. The damage performances on the armor from the kill elements formed with metallic or nonmetallic liners were evaluated and compared based on the numerical simulations and experimental studies. The results showed that the head diameter of the PTFE-Cu jet kill element was increased by 11.1% as compared to the PTFE jet kill element, and the former was twice as large as that of the copper jet kill element. The stronger reaming capacity against the target was essential for the opening of a channel for the tandem warhead’s subsequent element. In addition, when compared to the PTFE jet kill element, the penetration depth and the jet hole diameter of the PTFE-Cu one were increased by 45.8 and 12.6%, respectively, demonstrating the high damage potential of the PTFE-Cu jet kill element. Therefore, the present comparative analysis of the kill element damage performance with different materials under high-speed impact loading has provided a reference for the research and the design of the anti-armor tandem warhead with large penetration apertures and high damage performance.