Influence of adhesive thickness on high velocity impact performance of ceramic/metal composite targets

Abstract Influence of adhesive thickness on high velocity impact (HVI) performance of ceramic (Al2O3-99.5)/aluminium (Al5083 H116) composite targets is critically examined in this paper through numerical investigations. Detailed parametric studies are carried out by choosing a practical problem and for a range of adhesive thickness between 0.1 mm and 1.5 mm. Studies are focussed on normal impact of the composite target by ogive nosed projectile with a velocity of 830 m/s. Numerical simulation is carried out by adopting the Lagrangian approach and an axisymmetric finite element model. Impact responses are compared in relative terms among different cases of analysis to highlight the role played by adhesive thickness. Various response parameters such as shear strain developed at the interface of adhesive layer, target deformation, energy transformation, depth of penetration and deflection profile of back plate are considered in the investigations. These response parameters are observed to be influenced to different degree by the adhesive thickness. In particular, the depth of projectile penetration into the aluminium back plate is found to have non-monotonic variation with the thickness of adhesive layer.