Numerical Simulation of Ballistic Stability of Split Penetrator Penetrating Steel Target

In order to improve the trajectory stability of the projectile penetrating the steel target, a split penetrator was designed. Through LS-DYNA simulation, the trajectory variation rule of the split penetrator penetrating 14 mm-thick single-layer round steel target at obliquely 15° and different speeds was obtained. The influence of both the thickness and the installation gap of the protective shell on the pitch angle and trajectory deviation of the projectile were also discussed. The results showed that the split penetrator can effectively improve the penetration trajectory stability. When the penetrator speed is 500–700 m/s, the greater the thickness of the protective shell head, the smaller the pitch angle of the projectile and the trajectory deviation. When the penetrator speed is 800 m/s, the deflection angle and trajectory deviation of the projectile with a moderate thickness of the protective shell keep at the minimum. Besides, the installation gap of the protective shell can reduce the deflection of the trajectory by 8%–12% under specific working conditions. This is because when penetrating at low speed, the protective shell is not completely destroyed, and the attenuation of the stress wave increases with the thickness of the head, while at high speed the protective shell is gradually broken to a complete destruction to absorb the impact energy to the greatest extent and improve to the best ballistic stability; By increasing the clearance of the protective shell installation, the damage of the protective shell with a thicker head or at low speed penetration can also be improved.