PENETRATION STUDIES OF ICE WITH APPLICATION TO ARCTIC AND SUBARCTIC WARFARE - PHASE II STUDY

Abstract

Impact tests with freely falling and explosively powered projectiles were performed on laboratory sea ice test slabs made from frozen seawater at Stanford Research Institute, and on Arctic sea ice in situ at Point Barrow, Alaska. In the experiments, particular attention was devoted to studying the mechanisms of penetration and perforation. Ranges of values investigated for the basic parameters were: impact velocity, 8-20 ft/sec and 50-494 ft/sec; projectile weights, 0.75, 9.69, and 41.5 lb; penetrator diameters, 5/8 in., 1-1/ 4 in., and 6 in.; penetrator profiles, blunt and conical; sea ice thickness, 3- 3/8 - 17 in.; sea ice temperature, +7F - +32F, and sea ice salinity, 7.2 - 17.1 ppm. All tests were carried out at normal incidence except for one sequence on Arctic sea ice in which the angle of incidence was 17.3 degrees from vertical. Results of the tests indicate that a cylindrical, blunt-end penetrator was more effective in perforation than a corresponding penetrator with a conical end. The blunt penetrator, impacting at normal incidence, perforated both laboratory sea ice and Arctic sea ice by expelling a cylindrical-conical shear plug from the test specimen. For this behavior, a mathematical model was constructed and a theoretical analysis developed from which the minimum impact velocity for perforation (critical velocity) was obtained. The critical velocity was found to be a function of projectile mass and diameter, and sea ice thickness, shear strength, tensile strength, and elastic modulus. The theory did not consider effects due to cratering.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
May 01, 1967
Accession Number
AD0817598

Entities

People

  • Bernard Ross

Organizations

  • SRI International

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Computer Programs
  • Creep
  • Crystal Lattices
  • Crystal Structure
  • Geometry
  • Materials Laboratories
  • Mechanical Properties
  • Mechanics
  • Modulus Of Elasticity
  • Munitions
  • Naval Warfare
  • Navy
  • Ordnance Laboratories
  • Plastic Explosives
  • Polystyrenes
  • Stress Waves
  • Yield Strength

Readers

  • Mechanical Engineering/Mechanics of Materials.
  • Polar and Arctic Studies
  • ballistics.