Ballistic limit

The ballistic limit or limit velocity is the velocity required for a particular projectile to reliably (at least 50% of the time) penetrate a particular piece of material. In other words, a given projectile will generally not pierce a given target when the projectile velocity is lower than the ballistic limit.[1] The term ballistic limit is used specifically in the context of armor; limit velocity is used in other contexts.[1]

The ballistic limit equation for laminates, as derived by Reid and Wen[2] is as follows:


where

  • is the ballistic limit
  • is a projectile constant determined experimentally
  • is the density of the laminate
  • is the static linear elastic compression limit
  • is the diameter of the projectile
  • is the thickness of the laminate
  • is the mass of the projectile

Additionally, the ballistic limit for small-caliber into homogeneous armor by TM5-855-1 is:


where

  • is the ballistic limit velocity in fps
  • is the caliber of the projectile, in inches
  • is the thickness of the homogeneous armor (valid from BHN 360 - 440) in inches
  • is the angle of obliquity
  • is the weight of the projectile, in lbs

References

  1. Donald E. Carlucci, Sidney S. Jacobson (2008). Ballistics: Theory and Design of Guns and Ammunition. CRC Press. p. 310. ISBN 978-1-4200-6618-0.
  2. SR Reid, HM Wen. "Perforation of FRP laminates and sandwich panels subjected to missile impact". In: SR Reid, G Zhou, editors. "Impact behaviour of fibre-reinforced composite materials and structures". Cambridge: Woodhead Publishers Ltd. 2000. In: G Reyes Villanueva, WJ Cantwell (2004). "The high velocity impact response of composite and FML-reinforced sandwich structures". Composites Science and Technology 64:35-54. doi:10.1016/S0266-3538(03)00197-0.
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