Solid-state flow, mechanical alloying, and melt-related phenomena for [0 0 1] single-crystal W ballistic rod penetrators interacting with steel targets

Single-crystal [0 0 1] clad with Inconel 718 and unclad W penetrators in steel targets have been examined by optical metallography and electron microscopy to provide a comprehensive microstructural overview of the penetration process, including solid-state penetrator flow and erosion, target flow, and solid-state mixing of the target and penetrator. Selective etching techniques as well as energy-dispersive X-ray mapping, revealed unambiguous evidence of target (steel) and penetrator mechanical mixing. These mixtures, which included some isolated melt regimes, differ in composition for clad and unclad samples, and were observed to intercalate within the material being eroded by DRX-assisted flow. The cladding material appears to influence the solid-state flow by functioning as the principal flow interaction regime between the target and penetrator. This suggests that by selecting some optimum cladding material, which might function as a solid-state lubricant at the interface regime, the penetration performance of the rod could improve.