SPACED TARGETS WITH ADDITIVELY MANUFACTURED TITANIUM PERTURBATION STRUCTURES

The effect of thin, inclined Ti6Al4V plates and structures on small caliber AP projectiles with tungsten carbide core was investigated. At angles of inclination of more than 25° NATO the tungsten carbide cores were severely fragmented during the interaction with the titanium plates. Instrumented Ballistic tests were conducted in which two high-speed cameras were utilized in order to determine the degree of fragmentation of the bullet core behind the titanium structures. The influence of the hit position on corrugated and saw tooth shaped structures was examined experimentally and analyzed by means of numerical simulations. In the next step, the effect of the perturbation structures in combination with titanium plates was investigated. The projectile could be stopped at a lower weight compared to a layered target of titanium plates. Additional tests and analyses were conducted with corrugated perturbation structures in combination with ceramic composite targets.