Α Research on the Impact of 20 mm × 102 mm Armor-Piercing Frangible Projectiles on Multilayer Armor

The current paper investigates the impact of 20 mm × 102 mm frangible armor-piercing projectiles on multilayer armor, specifically of land-based systems. The novelty and aim of the present research were to analyze, through both numerical and experimental methods, the behavior of the 20 mm × 102 mm frangible armor-piercing projectiles upon impact with multilayer armor, considering their unique design features. In addition to the experimental tests involving live firings in a dedicated testing range, numerous numerical simulations were conducted with various projectile models. Both 2D and 3D models considered an elasto-plastic model with kinematic hardening, suited of capturing the onset and progression of the material fracture, with a relatively small set of control parameters. The numerical results closely matched the experimental data, with error in the order of 1%.