Time resolved plastic deformations in rods subjected to transverse impact

This paper describes experiments to record deformation profiles versus time in metallic rods subjected to transverse ballistic impacts. Rod materials included a tungsten alloy, four alloys of steel, titanium, and copper. The deformation profiles were analyzed to determine time resolved transverse plastic deformation wave speeds in all the rod materials and to estimate effective fracture shear strains in some of the materials. These material parameters are key elements in an analytical model to estimate deformations and failure in long rod penetrators subjected to transverse loads arising from non-ideal plate penetration geometries (yaw and obliquity). The rod materials were also subjected to tensile tests and Taylor anvil impact tests to measure static tensile and dynamic compressive strengths and longitudinal plastic wave speeds. The Taylor anvil and transverse rod impact tests together furnish the required dynamic material properties for comparing the penetration effectiveness of candidate rod materials and geometries.