Composite Structures 49 (2000) 321329

www.elsevier.com/locate/compstruct

Predicting the penetration and perforation of FRP laminates struck

normally by projectiles with dierent nose shapes
H.M. Wen *
Department of Mechanical Engineering, UMIST, P.O. Box 88, Manchester M60 1QD, UK

Abstract
Simple relationships are given in this paper to predict the penetration and perforation of monolithic bre-reinforced plastic
(FRP) laminates struck normally by projectiles with dierent 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 oered 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 elasticplastic deformation of the laminate materials. The other is a dynamic resistive pressure arising from velocity eects. 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. 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights
reserved.
Keywords: FRP Laminates; Projectile; Penetration; Perforation; Ballistic limits

Notations

rs

a
A
A0
D
Ek
F
G
T
L
LN
P
S
Vi
Vb
b
g
h
qp
qep
qt
r
rd
re

u
u0
w

projectile radius
instant cross-sectional area of a projectile
cross-sectional area of projectile shank
projectile diameter
initial impact energy of a projectile
mean resistive force
projectile mass
thickness of monolithic FRP laminates
projectile shank length
projectile nose length
depth of penetration
dened in Fig. 1(a)
initial impact velocity of a projectile
Critical impact velocity; ballistic limit
constant, dened in Eq. (2)
constant, evaluated by Eq. (13d)
cone angle of a conical-nosed projectile
projectile density
equivalent projectile density
density of FRP laminates
mean resistive pressure of FRP laminates
dynamic resistive pressure of FRP laminates
elastic limit of FRP laminates in
through-thickness compression

Tel.: +44-61-236-331 ext 2403; fax: +44-0161-228-7040.

quasi-static resistive pressure of FRP

laminates
dened in Fig. 1(a)
dened by Eq. (13c)
calibre-radius-head, dened by Eq. (3)

1. Introduction
The penetration and perforation of targets by projectiles involve highly complex processes which have
been investigated experimentally for more than two
centuries and analytically largely during the last few
decades. Accounts of this work can be found in the
reviews by Backman and Goldsmith [1], Zukas [2],
Anderson and Bodner [3] and Corbett, Reid and
Johnson [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 perforation 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, unfortunately, they still require considerable resources in terms

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PII: S 0 2 6 3 - 8 2 2 3 ( 0 0 ) 0 0 0 6 4 - 7

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H.M. Wen / Composite Structures 49 (2000) 321329

of computing time (CPU). On the other hand, from the

engineering point of view there is considerable 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 (FRP) laminates have been
considered for armour applications [6,7], glass bres
being more popular than other types of bre such as
Kevlar due to 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 fabrics by
conical indenters has been modelled by Rutherford [8]
(see Ref. [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 throughthickness 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 inplane 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 deformation
mechanisms during ballistic perforation of thick S-2
glass/phenolic laminates by at-faced projectiles and
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 dominated
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 penetration of laminated Kevlar 29/polyester plates by conical-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 on 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/epoxy and the stacking sequence of
all the laminates was based on a basic pattern, 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 mm 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
adopted 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 behaviour
of fully-clamped 200 mm 200 mm polymeric composite
laminates at impact velocities of up to 571 m/s. Woven
roving, z-stitched and through-thickness z-stitched 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 g,
12 g) were examined. The results were presented in terms
of static and impact perforation energies and energy
absorption mechanisms during high velocity perforation
were also discussed with a view to identifying 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, dropweight and ballistic impact conditions with impact velocities up to 305 m/s were reported. Loaddisplacement
characteristics 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 quasistatic loading. Ballistic limits and perforation energies

H.M. Wen / Composite Structures 49 (2000) 321329

were determined and a classication of the responses

was deduced from the test data. Experimental evidence
shows that projectile/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
models 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 loaded quasi-statically by at-faced
punches. Empirical formulae 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/projectiles [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.
In this paper, simple equations are derived for the
penetration and perforation of FRP laminates by rigid
projectiles with dierent nose shapes. The approach is
based on the assumption that the deformations are localized and that the average pressure provided by the
target materials to resist the projectiles can be divided
into two parts. One part is the cohesive quasi-static resistive pressure applied normally to the projectile surface
due to the elastic-plastic deformations of the FRP
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.

323

laminates [6,15], i.e. rs re and that the dynamic

resistive pressure (rd ) is a function of the parameter
(qt /re )1=2 Vi and is taken to be rd bqt =re 1=2 Vi re , then
Eq. (1) can be rewritten as

r 
qt
2
Vi re :
r 1b
re
Here qt and Vi are the density of the FRP laminates and
the initial impact velocity of the projectile respectively. b
is a constant which are determined empirically.
The resistive pressure is generally expected to be a
function (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 projectile 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
directions, through the thickness and in-plane.
2.2. Penetration of semi-innite FRP laminates
Fig. 1 shows the geometries of rigid projectiles with
conical or ogival noses. The projectiles are assumed to
have density qp and mass G with diameter D (or radius

2. Formulation of the problem

2.1. Assumption about the resistive pressure
It is assumed that the mean pressure (r) applied
normally to the surface of the projectile provided by an
FRP laminate material to resist penetration and perforation by a projectile can be decomposed into two parts,
one part is the cohesive quasi-static resistive pressure
(rs ) due to the elasticplastic deformations of the laminate material and the other is the dynamic resistive
pressure (rd ) arising from velocity eects. Thus
r rs r d :

If it is further assumed that the cohesive quasi-static

resistive pressure is equal to the quasi-static linear elastic
limit (re ) in through-thickness compression of the FRP

Fig. 1. Projectile geometries: (a) ogival nose and (b) conical nose.

324

H.M. Wen / Composite Structures 49 (2000) 321329

a). L and LN are the lengths of the shank and nose for
ogival and conical projectiles as shown in Figs. 1(a) and
1(b), respectively. 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 calibreradius-head, viz.
CRH

S
w;
2a

where S and a are dened in Fig. 1(a). If a rigid 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 (qep ) 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 rigid projectile with a
conical nose on an FRP laminate target at normal incidence with an initial impact velocity Vi . Two situations
may arise depending upon the initial kinetic energy of
the projectile, as shown in Fig. 2. One scenario is that
the nal depth of penetration has not reached the
shoulder of the projectile 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 rigid ogival-nosed projectile
transversely impacting an FRP laminate target. Equations are derived in the following sections for the depth
of penetration into the FRP laminate targets by rigid
projectiles with conical and ogival noses.

2.2.1. Conical-nosed projectiles

2.2.1.1. Case I, P 6 LN . For a rigid conical-nosed projectile, the motion and the nal depth of penetration can
be calculated if the resistive forces are known. The resistive force of a conical-nosed projectile penetrating an
FRP laminate target at normal incidence as shown in
Fig. 2(I) can be written as
F rA;

where F is the resistive force and r is the mean resistive

pressure provided by the target material and is dened
by Eq. (2). A is the instant cross-sectional area and can
be determined from the geometrical conguration depicted in Fig. 2(I), i.e.,
h
A pP 2 tan 2 ;
2

in which h and P are the cone angle and the depth of

penetration, respectively. Substituting Eqs. (2) and (5)
into Eq. (4) gives

r 
h
qt
Vi ;
6
F pP 2 tan2 re 1 b
re
2
From energy conservation, one obtains
Z p
F dP ;
Ek
0

where Ek is the initial kinetic energy of the projectile.

Substituting Eq. (6) into the above equation yields

r 
P 3 A 0 re
qt
1

b
Ek
Vi ;
8
3L2N
re
after using tan h=2 a=LN and A0 pa2 . Here A0 is
the cross-sectional area of the projectile shank. Substituting Ek 1=2GVi 2 into Eq. (8) and rearranging gives
 
qp qt Vi 2
P
1
h
q i

;
9
LN
qt
re 2 1 b qt Vi P 2
L 3
3
LN
re
after using G A0 L LN =3qp .
2.2.1.2. Case II, P > LN . As shown in Fig. 2(II), the
penetration process can be divided into two stages. The
rst stage when P 6 LN has been described in the previous section. For the second stage when P > LN , the
resistive force (F) can be written as

r 
qt
Vi ;
10
F A0 r A0 re 1 b
re
after using Eq. (2). According to energy balance, one
obtains
Z LN
Z p
F dP
F dP :
11a
Ek
0

Fig. 2. Schematic diagrams of a conical-nosed projectile impacting on

semi-innite FRP laminate targets. (I) P 6 LN ; (II) P > LN .

LN

Substituting Eqs. (6) and (10) into Eq. (11a) and rearranging yields

H.M. Wen / Composite Structures 49 (2000) 321329



r 
2
qt
P LN A0 re 1 b
Vi :
re
3

325

Substituting Ek 1=2GVi 2 into the above equation and

using G A0 L LN =3qp gives the nal depth of the
penetration
 
qp qt Vi 2
P
1
2
h
q i L

:
12
LN
3LN 1
qt
re 2 1 b qt Vi
L 3
re

penetration for a rigid projectile with conical nose 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 ogival nose. From energy consideration, it is easy to show that

r 
qt
2
Ek pa T re 1 b
Vb :
15
re

2.2.2. Ogival-nosed projectiles

Similarly, Eqs. (13a)(14) can be obtained for the nal depth of penetration into an FRP laminate target by
a rigid projectile with ogival nose.

Substituting Ek 1=2GVb2 into the above equation and

rearranging yields
s #

p
pb qt re D2 T
8G
1 1 2
Vb
;
16
4G
pb qt D2 T

Ek

where Vb is the critical impact velocity or ballistic limit.

2.2.2.1. Case I, P 6 LN .
3

11b

qp L 8w gaVi 16w ar cos u

1
cos 3 u
3



1
u sin 2u sin u0
2
sin 2 u0 cosu

p
sin u0 g
2

3. Correlation with experimental data and discussion


13a

p
4w 1 2w cosu a

13b

in which u is dened in Fig. 1(a) and the mean resistive

pressure r is determined by Eq. (2). u0 and g are evaluated by the following equations


2w 1
13c
u0 sin 1
2w
p
1
sin u0 cosu0 cos 3 u0
2
3
!
1
u0 sin 2u0 sin u0 sin 2 u0 cosu0 :
2

The equations derived in section 2 can be compared

with experimental data for the penetration and perforation of FRP laminate targets by rigid projectiles with
dierent nose shapes. The values of the parameter (b) in
the equations have been empirically determined and are
taken to be 2sin(h/2) and 3/(4w) for conical-nosed and
ogival-nosed projectiles, respectively [20].
3.1. Conical-nosed projectiles
Fig. 3 shows comparison of the model predictions
with the experimental data for GRP (S2-glass/phenolic)
laminates impacted by a 7.5 mm diameter conical-nosed

2.2.2.2. Case II, p > LN .

!
qp qt Vi 2
P
1
h
q i

qt
re 2 1 b qt Vi
L 8w3 ga
re
p
3
4w 1 8w ga
:

L 8w3 ga

13d

14

2.3. Perforation of nite FRP laminates

The ballistic limit condition for an FRP laminates
with nite thickness struck transversely by a rigid projectile with conical or ogival noses can be estimated by
the energy balance method. There are three phases of

Fig. 3. Comparison of the theoretical predictions with the experimental data for the penetration of thick GRP (S2-glass/phenolic)
laminates struck normally by a 7.5 mm diameter conical-nosed projectile : Eq. (9), ____: Eq. (12); m experiments [12].

326

H.M. Wen / Composite Structures 49 (2000) 321329

missile with a mass of 47 g which was examined in Ref.

[12]. In the theoretical calculation, qt 2200 kg/m3 ,
re 755 MPa and h 90 and hence b 2 sin h=2
2 sin 45 1:414. The solid and broken lines in Fig. 3
are the theoretical predictions by Eqs. (9) and (12),
respectively. It is seen from Fig. 3 that the model predictions (Eqs. (9) and (12)) are in correlation 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 observations for GRP (E-glass/polyester) laminates struck
transversely by a 10.5 mm diameter conical-nosed missile with a mass of 18.7 g [17]. In the theoretical calculation, qt 1650 kg/m3 , re 225 MPa and h 90 and
hence b 2 sin h=2 2 sin 45 1:414. It is clear from
Fig. 4 that the model predictions by Eq. (16) are in good
agreement with the experimental data.
Fig. 5 shows comparison between the model predictions (Eq. (16)) and the experimental data for the perforation 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 calculation, qt 1650 kg/m3 , re 225 MPa and h 90
and hence b 2 sin h=2 2 sin 45 1:414. It is evident from Fig. 5 that the theoretically predicted ballistic
limits (Eq. (16)) are in good agreement with the experimental data.
Fig. 6 shows the comparison between Eq. (16) 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, qt 1231 kg/m3 , re 145
MPa and h 60 and hence b 2 sin h=2 2 sin 30
1. It is seen from Fig. 6 that Eq. (16) is in good
agreement with the experimental results.

Fig. 4. Comparison of the theoretical predictions with the experimental 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. (16); s experiments [17].

3.2. Flat-faced projectiles

A at-faced projectile may be seen as the special case
of a conical-nosed missile with h 180o . Hence, Eqs.
(12) and (16) can be rewritten as
 
qp qt Vi 2
P
1
h
q i

17
qt
re 2 1 2 qt Vi
L
re
and

s #
"
p
p qt re D2 T
2G
1 1
:
Vb
2G
pqt D2 T

18

after using b 2 sin h=2 2 sin 90 2.

Fig. 7 shows comparison between the theoretically
predicted ballistic limits and the experimental observations for GRP (E-glass/polyester) laminates struck
transversely by a 10.5 mm diameter at-faced projectile
with a mass of 20.4 g [1719]. In the theoretical calcu-

Fig. 5. Comparison of the theoretical predictions with the experimental data for the perforation of GRP (E-glass/polyester) laminates
struck transversely by 7.6 mm diameter conical-nosed missiles [16].
____: Eq. (16); (a) G 6 g and (b) G 12 g.

H.M. Wen / Composite Structures 49 (2000) 321329

327

Fig. 6. Comparison of the theoretical predictions with the experimental data for the perforation of KFRP (Kevlar 29/polyester) laminates struck transversely by a 28.9 g, 12.7 mm diameter conical-nosed
missile. ____: Eq. (16); s experiments [13].

lation, q 1650 kg/m3 , re 225 MPa. It is seen from

Fig. 7 that Eq. (18) is in good agreement with the experimental data.
Fig. 8 shows comparison between the model predictions (Eq. (18)) and the experimental data for the perforation of GRP (E-glass/polyester) laminates struck
transversely by 7.6 mm diameter at-faced missiles with
masses of 6 g and 12 g [16]. In the theoretical calculation, qt 1650 kg/m3 , re 225 MPa. It is evident from
Fig. 8 that the theoretically predicted ballistic limits (Eq.
(16)) are in good agreement with the experimental data.
3.3. Ogival-nosed projectiles

Fig. 8. Comparison of the theoretical predictions with the experimental data for the perforation of GRP (E-glass/polyester) laminates
struck transversely by 7.6 mm diameter at-faced missiles [16]. ____:
Eq. (18); (a) G 6 g and (b) G 12 g.

Fig. 9 shows comparison between the theoretical

predictions and the experimental data for the perfora-

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. (18); s experiments [1719].

Fig. 9. Comparison of the theoretical predictions with the experimental data for the perforation of GRP (E-glass/phenonic) laminates
struck transversely by a 5 g, 6 mm diameter ogival-nosed AP projectile.
____: Eq. (16); m experiments [21].

328

H.M. Wen / Composite Structures 49 (2000) 321329

tion 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,
qt 2200 kg/m3 , re 755 MPa and w 2 and hence
b 3=4w 3=8. It is seen from Fig. 9 that Eq. (16) 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
special case of an ogival-nosed missile with w 0:5.
Hence, the corresponding equations can be rewritten as
follows:
3.4.1. Case I, P 6 a
Fig. 10. Comparison of the theoretical predictions with the experimental 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. (21); s experiments [1719].

L 23 a

qp
qt

qt V i 2
1
h
q i
:
q
re 2 1 1:5 t Vi P 1 P 2
a
3 a
re

19

3.4.2. Case II, P > a

P

L 23 a

 
qp qt Vi 2
1
1
h
q i L
q
3a 2
qt
re 2 1 1:5 t Vi
re

20

and

s #
"
p
3p qt re D2 T
32G
1 1
;
Vb
8G
9pqt D2 T

21

after using b 3=4w 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 [17
19]. In the theoretical calculation, qt 1650 kg/m3 ,
re 225 MPa. It is clear from Fig. 10 that Eq. (21) is in
good agreement with the experimental observations.
Fig. 11 shows comparison between the model predictions (Eq. (21)) and the experimental data for the
perforation 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, qt 1650 kg/m3 , re 225
MPa. It is evident from Fig. 11 that the theoretically
predicted ballistic limits (Eq. (21)) are in good agreement with the experimental data.
4. Concluding remarks
Fig. 11. Comparison of the theoretical predictions with the experimental data for the perforation of GRP (E-glass/polyester) laminates
struck transversely by hemispherical-ended missiles [16]. ____: Eq.
(21); (a) D 10 mm, G 6 g and (b) D 7:6 mm, G 12g.

Simple equations have been obtained in this paper for

the penetration and perforation of monolithic FRP
laminates struck transversely by rigid projectiles with

H.M. Wen / Composite Structures 49 (2000) 321329

dierent nose shapes over a wide range of impact velocity. The approach is based upon the assumption that
the deformations are localized (i.e., wave-dominated
response) and the mean pressure provided by FRP
laminate targets to resist the projectiles can be decomposed into two parts. One part is the cohesive quasi-static
resistive pressure due to the elasticplastic deformations
of the target materials, the other is the dynamic resistive
pressure arising from the velocity eects. Equations have
been derived for the depth of penetration and the ballistic
limits in case of perforation.
It is demonstrated that the theoretical predictions are
in good agreement with experimental observations for
FRP laminates struck normally by rigid projectiles with
at, conical, hemispherical and ogival noses in terms of
penetration depth and ballistic limits.

References
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[2] Zukus JA. Penetration and perforation of solids. In: Zukus JA
et al., editors. Impact dynamics. New York: Wiley, 1982. p. 155
214.
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