Penetration and perforation of thick FRP laminates

H.M. Wen*
Department of Mechanical, Aerospace and Manufacturing Engineering, UMIST, PO Box 88, Manchester M60 1QD, UK
Received 17 January 2001; accepted 13 February 2001
Abstract
Analytical equations are given for the prediction of the penetration and perforation of thick FRP laminates struck normally by
missiles over a wide range of impact velocities. The missiles have dierent nose shapes (i.e. truncated, conical, at, ogival and
hemispherical). The formulation is based on the assumption that the deformations are localized and that the mean pressure oered
by the FRP laminate targets to resist the missiles consists of 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 eects.
Analytical equations are derived for the depth of penetration (DOP) in the FRP laminate targets and the ballistic limits in the case
of perforation. It is shown that the theoretical predictions are in good correlation with available experimental data. # 2001 Pub-
lished by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: FRP laminates; Missiles; Impact; Penetration; Perforation; Ballistic limit
1. Introduction
The penetration and perforation of targets by pro-
jectiles involve highly complex processes which have
been investigated experimentally for more than two cen-
turies and analytically largely during the last few dec-
ades. Accounts of this work can be found in the reviews
by Backman and Goldsmith [1], Zukas [2], Anderson
and Bodner [3] and Corbett et al. [4]. Depending on
impact velocity, the material and geometric properties
of both the projectile and the target, several theoretical
models (analytical and numerical) have been proposed
over the years to predict the level of the penetration in
thick targets or the impact conditions for the perfora-
tion of plates as can be seen from these reviews. However,
many of the analytical models are single-mechanism
models which have so far enjoyed limited applications.
Numerical simulations have been successful in predicting
the response of targets to projectile impact but, unfortu-
nately, they still require considerable resources in terms
of computing time (CPU) and manpower. On the other
hand, from the engineering point of view there is con-
siderable interest in the development of empirical or
semi-empirical laws for the penetration and perforation
of plates as noted in references [1,4,5].
Fibre-reinforced plastic laminates have been con-
sidered for armour applications [6,7], glass bres being
more popular than other types of bre such as Kevlar
because of their cost advantage. The mechanics of
deformation and failure of FRP laminates subjected to
local impact loads is understood only for a few cases of
simple geometrical form [6,7]. Static indentation of
thick composites with bres in the form of woven fab-
rics by conical indenters has been modelled by Ruther-
ford [8] (see [12]) who used an energy approach to relate
the force at a certain level of indentation to two strength
parameters representing the in-plane and through-thick-
ness strengths of the composites, respectively. A similar
problem was also examined by Zhao et al. [9] who
employed transversely isotropic elastic analysis and rigid,
perfectly-plastic material models. They showed that the
latter led to a formula depending only on the in-plane
strength of the material. This formula showed good
agreement with tests on Scotch-ply laminates.
The deformation mechanisms which occur during
dynamic penetration and perforation of laminates have
been examined by a number of authors [1019]. As
indicated in [12], Greaves [10,11] studied the deforma-
tion mechanisms during ballistic perforation of thick S-
2 glass/phenolic laminates by at-faced projectiles and
0266-3538/01/$ - see front matter # 2001 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Composites Science and Technology 61 (2001) 11631172
www.elsevier.com/locate/compscitech
* Tel.: +44-161-2363311, ext. 2403; fax: +44-161-228-7040.
E-mail address: h.m.wen@umist.ac.uk
found that the failure can be divided into two phases.
Phase 1 involves compression, shear, indentation and
expulsion of debris. In Phase 2, the formation of a cone
of delaminations, bre stretching and fracture occur
and the projectile exits the back face. It was noted that
the Phase 1 indentation mechanism, said to be domi-
nated by the through-thickness compressive resistance
of the material, absorbed most of the impact energy and
was therefore worthy of more detailed study. To this
end, an investigation into the impact force-indentation
characteristics of laminates at velocities of up to 200 m/s
has been carried out by Reid et al. [12].
Zhu et al. [13] investigated experimentally the pene-
tration of laminated Kevlar-29/polyester plates by con-
ical-nosed projectiles and proposed a range of models for
the various energy-absorbing mechanisms to estimate the
target resistance to the projectile motion [14]. The event of
ballistic impact was divided into three consecutive stages:
indentation, perforation and exit. The global structural
deformations were determined using laminated plate
theory. Dissipative mechanisms including indentation of
the projectile tip, bulging of the back surface of the
laminate, bre failure, delamination and friction were
described utilizing certain simplying assumptions. Good
agreement was obtained between the model predictions
and the experimental results.
Lee and Sun [15] carried out a combined experimental
and numerical study of the dynamic penetration of
clamped circular CFRP laminates by a 30 g, 14.5 mm
diameter at-ended projectile in the velocity range 24
91 m/s. The composite material examined was Hercules
AS4/3501-6 graphite-bre/epoxy and the stacking
sequence of all the laminates was based on a basic pat-
tern, namely [0/90/45/45]
s
. Three types of impact tests
were conducted on the graphite/epoxy laminates which
had two thicknesses (i.e. 2 and 4 mm) and the ballistic
limits were determined. The penetration process of
composite laminates by a at-ended missile consisted of
three stages: pre-delamination, post-delamination before
plugging and post-plugging. Based upon these three
stages, a nite-element model was established to simulate
the static punch process. The material was modelled using
eective moduli so that the details of the stacking
sequence were not included in the model. The simulated
static load/punch displacement curve was subsequently
employed in the dynamic penetration analysis, and the
displacements at certain specic checkpoints were adop-
ted as the penetration criteria. It was shown that the
computational results were in good agreement with the
limited experimental data.
Recently, Mines et al. [16] conducted an experimental
investigation into the high-velocity perforation beha-
viour of fully-clamped 200200 mm polymeric compo-
site laminates at impact velocities of up to 571 m/s.
Woven roving, z-stitched and through-thickness z-stit-
ched glass polyester laminates for a number of laminate
thicknesses (6, 12, 24 ply), three types of impactors (i.e.
at, hemispherical and conical), and two missile masses
(6 and 12 g) were examined. The results were presented
in terms of static and impact perforation energies and
energy absorption mechanisms during high-velocity per-
foration were also discussed with a view to identifying
Nomenclature
a missile radius
a
T
radius of truncated part
A instant cross-sectional area of a missile
A
o
cross-sectional area of missile shank
(A
o
a
2
)
A
T
cross-sectional area of truncated part
(A
T
a
2
T
)
D missile diameter
E
k
impact energy of a missile
F mean resistive force
G missile mass
T thickness of monolithic FRP laminates
L missile shank length
L
N
missile nose length
L
T
length of truncated part
P depth of penetration
S dened in Fig. 1(a)
V
i
impact velocity of a missile
V
b
Critical impact velocity; ballistic limit
[ constant, dened in Eq. (2)
j constant, evaluated by Eq. (20d)
cone angle of a conical-nosed projectile
,
p
missile density
,
e
p
equivalent missile density
,
t
density of FRP laminates
o mean resistive pressure of FRP laminates
o
cone
mean pressure of FRP laminates to resist a
conical-nosed missile
o
d
dynamic resistive pressure of FRP laminates
o
e
elastic limit of FRP laminates in through-
thickness compression
o
flat
mean pressure of FRP laminates to resist a
at-ended missile
o
ogive
mean pressure of FRP laminates to resist an
ogival-nosed missile
o
s
quasi-static resistive pressure of FRP laminates
dened in Fig. 1(a)

o
dened by Eq. (11c)

T
dened by Eq. (11d)
[ calibre-radius-head, [ S,2a
1164 H.M. Wen / Composites Science and Technology 61 (2001) 11631172
improved combinations of materials. It was found that
all types of construction behave in a similar manner.
Wen et al. [1719] carried out a comprehensive study
on the penetration and perforation of FRP laminates
and sandwich panels with such laminates as skins and
with foam cores in the context of oshore applications
as part of the UK collaborative research programme on
the Cost Eective Use of Fibre-Reinforced Composites
Oshore. The results of penetration and perforation
tests performed on composite laminates and sandwich
panels using at-faced, hemispherical-ended and conical-
nosed indenters/missiles under quasi-static, drop-weight
and ballistic impact conditions with impact velocities up
to 305 m/s were reported. Load-displacement character-
istics under quasi-static loading were presented and the
energies corresponding to dierent degrees of damage
were calculated. Fracture patterns observed in sandwich
panels loaded dynamically were compared with those
observed in identical panels under quasi-static loading.
Ballistic limits and perforation energies were determined
and a classication of the responses was deduced from
the test data. Experimental evidence shows that pro-
jectile/ballistic impact on FRP laminates and sandwich
panels with such laminates as skins and with foam cores
can be categorized into low velocity impact (global) and
wave-dominated (localized) responses.
Simple analytical analyses using multiple-spring mod-
els were developed [17] to predict the quasi-static top skin
failure load and the energy absorbed for sandwich panels.
Failure maps were constructed for sandwich panels loa-
ded quasi-statically by at-faced punches. Empirical for-
mulae that predict the penetration and perforation
energies of FRP laminates and sandwich panels under
quasi-static and dynamic loading conditions were derived
for at-faced and hemispherical-ended indenters/pro-
jectiles [1719]. It was shown that the model predictions
are in good correlation with the available experimental
data. It was also shown that, to a rst approximation, the
empirical formula obtained for hemispherical-ended
missiles is also applicable to conical-nosed projectiles.
The objective of this paper is to derive analytical
equations for predicting the penetration and perforation
of FRP laminates struck at normal incidence by missiles
over a wide range of impact velocity. The missiles have
dierent nose shapes, i.e. truncated, conical, at, ogival
and hemispherical. The formulation is based on the
assumption that the deformations are localized and that
the average pressure provided by the FRP target materi-
als to resist the projectiles can be decomposed into two
parts. One part is the cohesive quasi-static resistive pres-
sure applied normally to the projectile surface due to the
elastic-plastic deformations of the laminate materials
and the other is the dynamic resistive pressure arising
from velocity eects. This latter is simply expressed as a
velocity-dependent enhancement factor applied to the
static pressure term. Correlation between the equations
and the available experimental data is presented and
discussed.
2. Formulation of the problem
2.1. Assumption about the resistive pressure
It is assumed that the mean pressure, o, applied nor-
mally to the surface of the missile provided by an FRP
laminate material to resist penetration and perforation
by a missile consist of two parts, one part is the cohesive
quasi-static resistive pressure, o
s
, as a result of the elastic-
plastic deformations of the laminate material and the
other is the dynamic resistive pressure, o
d
, arising from
velocity eects. Thus
o o
s
o
d
1
If it is further assumed that the cohesive quasi-static
resistive pressure is equal to the quasi-static linear elas-
tic limit, o
e
, in through-thickness compression of the
FRP laminates [6,15], i.e. o
s
o
e
and that the dynamic
resistive pressure, o
d
, is a function of the parameter,
,
t
,o
e

1,2
V
i
and is taken to be o
d
[ ,
t
,o
e

1,2
V
i
o
e
, then
Eq. (1) can be rewritten as
o 1 [

,
t
o
e
_
V
i
_ _
o
e
2
Here, ,
t
and V
i
are the density of the FRP laminates
and the initial impact velocity of the projectile respec-
tively. [ is a constant which are determined empirically.
Fig. 1. Projectile geometries: (a) truncated-ogive-nose and (b) trun-
cated-cone-nose.
H.M. Wen / Composites Science and Technology 61 (2001) 11631172 1165
The resistive pressure is generally expected to be a func-
tion (usually a polynomial function) of the penetration
velocity, as noted in [1,20]. In Eq. (2), the mean pressure
provided by the FRP target material to resist the pro-
jectile is simply taken as a linear function of the initial
impact velocity. For bre-reinforced plastics it has been
observed in the static indentation tests [15] that the rst
term in Eq. (2) is related to the static strengths of FRP
laminates in compression in the two principal direc-
tions, through the thickness and in-plane.
2.2. Penetration of semi-innite FRP laminates
Fig. 1(a) and (b) shows the geometries of rigid missiles
with truncated-ogive-nose and truncated-cone-nose,
respectively. The missiles are assumed to have density ,
p
and mass G with shank diameter D (or radius a). L, L
N
,
L
T
and a
T
are the lengths of the shank, the total nose,
the truncated part and the radius of the truncated part for
truncated-ogive-nose and truncated-cone-nose missiles,
respectively, as shown in Fig. 1(a) and (b). Fig. 1(a) shows
the ogive prole as the arc of a circle that is tangent to the
projectile shank. It is also common to dene the ogive in
terms of calibre-radius-head, viz. CRH S,2a, where S
and a are the radii of the ogive and the shank of the mis-
sile respectively, as dened in Fig. 1(a). If a rigid trun-
cated-nose projectile has a complex conguration (for
example, it is hollow or has a sabot system) then the
projectile still can be described as one of those depicted
in Fig. 1 but with an eective density (,
e
p
) which is taken
to be the ratio of the projectile mass to the volume of
the basic conguration as shown in Fig. 1.
Fig. 2 shows the impact of a truncated-cone-nose mis-
sile on an FRP laminate target at normal incidence with
an initial impact velocity V
i
. Two situations may arise
depending upon the initial kinetic energy of the missile, as
shown in Fig. 2. One scenario is that the nal depth of
penetration has not reached the shoulder of the missile
when its kinetic energy has been dissipated and the other is
that the nal depth of penetration is larger than the nose
length. Similar situations may occur for a truncated-ogive-
nose missile transversely impacting an FRP laminate tar-
get. Equations are derived in the following sections for
the depth of penetration into the FRP laminate targets
by rigid missiles with truncated-cone/ogive-noses.
2.2.1. Truncated-cone-nose missiles
2.2.1.1. Case I, P4L
N
L
T
. For a rigid truncated-
cone-nose missile, the motion and the nal depth of
penetration can be calculated if the resistive forces are
known. The resistive force of a truncated-cone-nose
missile penetrating an FRP laminate target at normal
incidence as shown in Fig. 2(I) can be written as
F o
flat
A
T
o
cone
A A
T
3
where F is the resistive force and o
flat
and o
cone
are the
respective mean resistive pressures of the truncated part
and the conical nose provided by the target material and
dened by Eq. (2) with [ 2 (for at-face) and
2sin ,2 (for conical-nose), respectively. is the cone
angle of the missile, as shown in Fig. 2. A
T
L
2
T
tan
2
,2 is the area of the truncated part and A
P L
T

2
tan
2
,2 is the instant cross-sectional area
and can be determined from the geometrical congura-
tion depicted in Fig. 2(I). P is the depth of penetration.
Substituting A
T
L
2
T
tan
2
,2 and A P L
T

2
tan
2
,2 into Eq. (3) gives
F o
flat
L
2
T
tan
2

2
o
cone
P
2
tan
2

2
2PL
T
tan
2

2
_ _
4
From energy conservation, one obtains
E
k

_
p
0
FdP 5
where E
k
is the initial kinetic energy of the missile.
Substituting Eq. (4) into the above equation and rear-
ranging yields
E
k
o
flat
L
2
T
Ptan
2

3
o
cone
P
3
tan
2

2
o
cone
P
2
L
T
tan
2

2
6
Substituting E
k
1,2 GV
2
i
into Eq. (6) and rearrang-
ing gives
Fig. 2. Schematic diagrams of a conical-nosed projectile impacting on
semi-innite FRP laminate targets. (I) P4L
N
L
T
; (II) P > L
N
L
T
.
1166 H.M. Wen / Composites Science and Technology 61 (2001) 11631172
P
L
L
N
3
1
L
T
L
N
_ _
3
_ _
,
p
,
t
_ _
,
t
V
2
i
2o
cone
1
1
3
P
L
N
_ _
2

P
L
N
_ _
L
T
L
N
_ _

L
T
L
N
_ _
2
o
flat
o
cone
_ _
7
after using G ,
p
L L
N
,3 1 L
T
,L
N

3
_ _ _ _
L
2
N
tan
2
,2 .
2.2.1.2. Case II, P > L
N
L
T
. As shown in Fig. 2(II),
the penetration process can be divided into two stages.
The rst stage when P4L
N
L
T
has been described in
the previous section. For the second stage when
P > L
N
L
T
, the resistive force (F) can be written as
F o
flat
A
T
o
cone
A
o
A
T
8
From energy consideration, one obtains
E
k

_
L
N
L
T
o
FdP
_
p
L
N
L
T
FdP 9a
Substituting Eqs. (6) and (10) into Eq. (11a) and
rearranging yields
E
k
o
cone
L
2
N
tan
2

2
_
1
L
T
L
N
_ _
2
o
flat
o
cone
1
_ _
_ _
1
L
T
L
N
_ _
2
_ _
2L
N
3

L
T
3
_ _
_ 9b
Substituting E
k
1,2 GV
2
i
into the above equation
and using G ,
p
L L
N
,3 1 L
T
,L
N

3
_ _ _ _
L
2
N
tan
2
,2 gives the nal depth of the penetration
P
L
L
N
3
1
L
T
L
N
_ _
3
_ _

,
p
,
t
_ _
,
t
V
2
i
o
cone
1
2 1
L
T
L
N
_ _
2
o
flat
o
cone
1
_ _
_ _

2 1
L
T
L
N
_ _
2
_ _
1
1
2
L
T
L
N
_ _ _ _
3
L
L
N
_ _
1
L
T
L
N
_ _
3
_ _
10
2.2.2. Truncated-ogive-nose missiles
Similarly, Eqs. (11) and (12) can be obtained for the
nal depth of penetration into an FRP laminate target
by a rigid truncated-ogive-nose missile.
2.2.2.1. Case I, P4L
N
L
T
.
,
p
L 8[
3
j
T
a
_ _
V
2
i
16[
3
ao
ogive
__
-cos
1
3
cos
3

1
2
sin2
_ _
sin
o
sin
2

o
cos
o

2
sin
o
j
T

o
flat
o
ogive
1
_ _
sin
T
sin
o

2
cos
T
cos g
11a
P

4[1
_
2[cos
_ _
a L
T
11b
in which is dened in Fig. 1(a) and the mean resistive
pressure o
ogive
is determined by Eq. (2) with [
3, 4[ .
o
.
T
and j
T
are evaluated by the following
equations

o
sin
1
2[1
2[
_ _
11c
L
T
2[a cos
o
cos
T
11d
j
T

2
sin
o
cos
T

1
3
cos3
T

T

1
2
sin2
T
_ _
sin
o
sin
2

o
cos
T
11e
2.2.2.2. Case II, P > L
N
L
T
.
P
L 8[
3
j
T
a

,
p
,
t
_ _

,
t
V
2
i
2o
ogive
1 4[
2
o
flat
o
ogive
1
_ _
sin
T
sin
o

2
_ _

4[ 1
p
a 8[
3
a j
T

o
flat
o
ogive
1
_ _
sin
T
sin
o

2
cos
T
_ _
L 8[
3
j
T
a 1 4[
2
o
flat
o
ogive
1
_ _
sin
T
sin
o

2
_ _
12
2.3. Perforation of nite FRP laminates
The ballistic limit condition for an FRP laminates
with nite thickness struck transversely by a rigid pro-
jectile with dierent noses can be estimated by the
energy balance method. There are three phases of pene-
tration for a rigid projectile with truncated-cone-nose
(12)
H.M. Wen / Composites Science and Technology 61 (2001) 11631172 1167
impacting on a nite plate. First, the nose enters the
plate, second, the nose is fully embedded and nally, the
nose exits the plate. The same arguments can also apply
to the rigid projectile with truncated-ogive-nose. From
energy consideration, it is easy to show that
E
k
a
2
To
cone
1
o
flat
o
cone
1
_ _
a
T
a
_ _
2
_ _
13a
for truncated-cone-nose missiles and
E
k
a
2
To
ogive
1
o
flat
o
ogive
1
_ _
a
T
a
_ _
2
_ _
13b
for truncated-ogive-nose missiles. Substituting E
k

1,2 GV
2
b
into the above equations and rearranging
yields an approximate value for the ballistic limit
V
b

2a
2
To
cone
G
_
1
o
flat
o
cone
1
_ _
a
T
a
_ _
2
_ _1
2
14a
for truncated-cone-nose missiles and
V
b

2a
2
To
ogive
G
_
1
o
flat
o
ogive
1
_ _
a
T
a
_ _
2
_ _1
2
14b
for truncated-ogive-nose missiles. V
b
is the critical
impact velocity or ballistic limit.
3. Correlation with experimental data and discussion
The equations derived in Section 2 can be compared
with available experimental data for the penetration and
perforation of FRP laminate targets by rigid missiles
which have dierent nose shapes.
3.1. Conical-nosed missiles
Aconical-nosed missile can be seen as the special case of
a truncated-cone-nose missile with L
T
0. Hence, the
corresponding Eqs. (7), (10) and (14a) can be written as
3.1.1. Case I, P4L
N
P
L
L
N
3

,
p
,
t
_ _
,
t
V
2
i
o
e
1
2
3
1 [

,
t
o
e
_
V
i
_ _
P
L
N
_ _
2
15
3.1.2. Case II, P > L
N
P
L
L
N
3

,
p
,
t
_ _
,
t
V
2
i
o
e
1
2 1 [

,
t
o
e
_
V
i
_ _
2
3
L
L
N
_ _
1
16
3.1.3. Ballistic limit
V
b

sin

2
_ _

,
t
o
e
p
D
2
T
2G
1

1
2G
sin
2

2
_ _
,
t
D
2
T

_
_
_
_
_
_
_

_
17
Fig. 3 shows comparison of the model predictions
with the experimental data for GRP (S-2 glass/phenolic)
laminates impacted by a 7.5 mm diameter conical-nosed
missile with a mass of 47 g which was examined in Ref.
[12]. In the theoretical calculation, ,
t
2200 kg/m
3
,
o
e
755 MPa and 90

. The broken and solid lines

in Fig. 3 are the theoretical predictions by Eqs. (15) and
(16), respectively. It is seen from Fig. 3 that the model
predictions [Eqs. (15) and (16)] are in correlation agree-
ment with the experimental data in terms of the nal
depth of penetration.
Fig. 4 shows comparison between the theoretically
predicted ballistic limits and the experimental observa-
tions for GRP (E-glass/polyester) laminates struck
transversely by a 10.5 mm diameter conical-nosed mis-
sile with a mass of 18.7 g [17]. In the theoretical calcu-
Fig. 3. Comparison of the theoretical predictions with the experi-
mental data for the penetration of thick GRP (S2-glass/phenolic)
laminates struck normally by a 7.5 mm diameter conical-nosed pro-
jectile. , Eq. (15); , Eq. (16); ~, experiments [12].
1168 H.M. Wen / Composites Science and Technology 61 (2001) 11631172
lation, ,
t
1650 kg/m
3
, o
e
225 MPa and 90

. It
is clear from Fig. 4 that the model predictions by Eq.
(17) are in good agreement with the experimental data.
Fig. 5 shows comparison between the model predic-
tions [Eq. (17)] and the experimental data for the per-
foration of GRP (E-glass/polyester) laminates struck
transversely by 7.6 mm diameter conical-nosed missiles
with masses of 6 and 12 g [16]. In the theoretical calcu-
lation, ,
t
1650 kg/m
3
, o
e
225 MPa and 90

. It
is evident from Fig. 5 that the theoretically predicted
ballistic limits [Eq. (17)] are in good agreement with the
experimental data.
Fig. 6 shows the comparison between Eq. (17) and the
test results for the perforation of KFRP (Kevlar 29/
polyester) laminates impacted normally by a 12.7 mm
diameter conical projectile with a mass of 28.9 g [13]. In
the theoretical calculation, ,
t
1231 kg/m
3
, o
e
145
MPa and 60

. It is seen from Fig. 6 that Eq. (17) is

in good agreement with the experimental results.
3.2. Flat-faced projectiles
A at-faced projectile may be seen as the special case
of a conical-nosed missile with 180

. Hence, Eqs.
(16) and (17) can be rewritten as
P
L

,
p
,
t
_ _
,
t
V
2
i
o
e
1
2 1 2

,
t
o
e
_
V
i
_ _ 18
and
V
b

,
t
o
e
p
D
2
T
2G
1

1
2G
,
t
D
2
T
_ _ _
19
after using sin ,2 sin90

1.
Fig. 7 shows comparison between the theoretically
predicted ballistic limits and the experimental observa-
tions for GRP (E-glass/polyester) laminates struck
transversely by a 10.5 mm diameter at-faced projectile
Fig. 4. Comparison of the theoretical predictions with the experi-
mental data for the perforation of GRP (E-glass/polyester) laminates
struck transversely by a 18.7 g, 10.5 mm diameter conical-nosed
missile. , Eq. (17); *, experiments [17].
Fig. 5. Comparison of the theoretical predictions with the experi-
mental data for the perforation of GRP (E-glass/polyester) laminates
struck transversely by a 7.6 mm diameter conical-nosed missile
[16]. , Eq. (17); (a) G 6 g and (b) G 12 g.
Fig. 6. Comparison of the theoretical predictions with the experi-
mental data for the perforation of KFRP (Kevlar 29/polyester) lami-
nates struck transversely by a 28.9 g, 12.7 mm diameter conical-nosed
missile. , Eq. (17); *experiments [13].
H.M. Wen / Composites Science and Technology 61 (2001) 11631172 1169
with a mass of 20.4 g [1719]. In the theoretical calcu-
lation, ,
t
1650 kg/m
3
, o
e
225 MPa. It is seen from
Fig. 7 that Eq. (19) is in good agreement with the
experimental data.
Fig. 8 shows comparison between the model predic-
tions [Eq. (19)] and the experimental data for the per-
foration of GRP (E-glass/polyester) laminates struck
transversely by 7.6 mm diameter at-faced missiles with
masses of 6 and 12 g [16]. In the theoretical calculation,
,
t
1650 kg/m
3
, o
e
225 MPa. It is evident from Fig. 8
that the theoretically predicted ballistic limits [Eq. (19)]
are in good agreement with the experimental data.
3.3. Ogival-nosed missiles
An ogival-nosed missile can be seen as the special case
of a truncated-ogive-nose missile with L
N
0. Hence,
the corresponding Eqs. (11), (12) and (14b) can be
written as
3.3.1. Case I, P4L
N
,
p
L 8[
3
ja
_ _
V
2
i
16[
3
ao
_
cos
1
3
cos
3

1
2
sin2
_ _
sin
o
sin
2

o
cos
o

2
sin
o
j
_
20a
P

4[1
_
2[cos
_ _
a 20b

o
sin
1
2[1
2[
_ _
20c
j

2
sin
o
cos
o

1
3
cos
3

o

o

1
2
sin2
o
_ _
sin
o
sin
2

o
cos
o
20d
3.3.2. Case II, P > L
N
P
L 8[
3
ja

,
p
,
t
_ _
,
t
V
2
i
o
e
1
2 1 [

,
t
o
e
_
V
i
_ _

4[1
p
8[
3
j
_ _
a
L 8[
3
ja
21
3.3.3. Ballistic limit
V
b

3

,
t
o
e
p
D
2
T
16[G
1

1
128[
2
G
9,
t
D
2
T
_
_
_
_
_
22
Fig. 9 shows comparison between the theoretical pre-
dictions and the experimental data for the perforation
of GRP (E-glass/phenonic) laminates struck normally
by a 6 mm diameter ogival-nosed AP projectile with a
mass of 5 g [21]. In the theoretical calculation, ,
t
2200
kg/m
3
, o
e
755 MPa and [ 2. It is seen from Fig. 9
Fig. 7. Comparison of the theoretical predictions with the experimental
data for the perforation of GRP (E-glass/polyester) laminates struck
transversely by a 20.4 g, 10.5 mm diameter at-faced missile. ,
Eq. (19); *, experiments [1719].
Fig. 8. Comparison of the theoretical predictions with the experi-
mental data for the perforation of GRP (E-glass/polyester) laminates
struck transversely by a 7.6 mm diameter at-faced missile [16]. ,
Eq. (19); (a) G 6 g and (b) G 12 g.
1170 H.M. Wen / Composites Science and Technology 61 (2001) 11631172
that Eq. (22) is in good agreement with the experimental
data which were reported in Ref [21].
3.4. Hemispherical-ended projectiles
A hemispherical-ended projectile can be seen as the spe-
cial case of an ogival-nosed missile with [ 0.5. Hence,
the corresponding equations can be rewritten as follows:
3.4.1. Case I, P4a
P
L
2
3
a

,
p
,
t
_ _
,
t
V
2
i
o
e
1
2 1 1.5

,
t
o
e
_
V
i
_ _
P
a

1
3
P
a
_ _
2
_ _
23
3.4.2. Case II, P > a
P
L
2
3
a

,
p
,
t
_ _
,
t
V
2
i
o
e
1
2 1 1.5

,
t
o
e
_
V
i
_ _

1
3
L
a
_ _
2
24
3.4.3. Ballistic limit
V
b

3

,
t
o
e
p
D
2
T
8G
1

1
32G
9,
t
D
2
T
_ _ _
25
after using [ 3, 4[ 1.5.
Fig. 10 shows comparison between the theoretically
predicted ballistic limits [Eq. (21)] and the experimental
data for the perforation of GRP (E-glass/polyester)
laminates struck transversely by a 10.5 mm diameter
hemispherical-ended projectile with a mass of 17.9 g
Fig. 9. Comparison of the theoretical predictions with the experi-
mental data for the perforation of GRP (E-glass/phenonic) laminates
struck transversely by a 5 g, 6 mm diameter ogival-nosed AP pro-
jectile. , Eq. (22); ~, experiments [21].
Fig. 10. Comparison of the theoretical predictions with the experi-
mental data for the perforation of GRP (E-glass/polyester) laminates
struck transversely by a 17.9 g, 10.5 mm diameter hemispherical-ended
missile. , Eq. (25); *, experiments [1719].
Fig. 11. Comparison of the theoretical predictions with the experi-
mental data for the perforation of GRP (E-glass/polyester) laminates
struck transversely by hemispherical-ended missiles [16]. , Eq. (25);
(a) D 10 mm, G 6 g and (b) D 7.6 mm, G 12 g.
H.M. Wen / Composites Science and Technology 61 (2001) 11631172 1171
[1719]. In the theoretical calculation, ,
t
1650 kg/m
3
,
o
e
225 MPa. It is clear from Fig. 10 that Eq. (25) is in
good agreement with the experimental observations.
Fig. 11 shows comparison between the model predic-
tions [Eq. (25)] and the experimental data for the per-
foration of GRP (E-glass/polyester) laminates struck
transversely by hemispherical-ended projectiles with
diameters of 10 and 7.6 mm and masses of 6 and 12 g
[16]. In the theoretical calculation, ,
t
1650 kg/m
3
,
o
e
225 MPa. It is evident from Fig. 11 that the theo-
retically predicted ballistic limits [Eq. (25)] are in good
agreement with the experimental data.
4. Concluding remarks
Analytical equations have been derived in this paper
for the penetration and perforation of thick FRP lami-
nates struck transversely by rigid missiles over a wide
range of impact velocity. The missiles have dierent nose
shapes (i.e. truncated, conical, at, ogival and hemi-
spherical). The approach is based upon the assumption
that the deformation is localized (i.e. wave-dominated
response) and the mean pressure provided by FRP lami-
nate targets to resist the projectiles can be decomposed
into two parts. One part is the cohesive quasi-static
resistive pressure as a result of elastic-plastic deforma-
tion of the target materials, the other is the dynamic
resistive pressure arising from the velocity eects.
Equations have been obtained for the depth of penetra-
tion and the ballistic limits in case of perforation.
It has been shown that the theoretical predictions are
in good agreement with experimental observations for
FRP laminates struck normally by rigid missiles in
terms of penetration depth and ballistic limits.
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