Pseudo-spring SPH simulations on the perforation of metal targets with different damage models

Abstract

The behaviour of circular plates made of Weldox 460E steel under projectile impact are numerically investigated by the pseudo-spring Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) framework. The Johnson-Cook material model is used to consider the plastic deformation of materials. Six damage models (Wilkins, maximum shear stress, constant fracture strain, Cockcroft–Latham, Johnson–Cook and Bao–Wierzbicki fracture models) are implemented to study the plate failure. The crack is modelled through the pseudo-spring analogy in which each interacting particle pair is connected through springs. These springs define the level of interaction based on the accumulated damage. The interaction between particle pair is terminated when the accumulated damage in the connecting spring reaches a critical value. Pseudo-spring SPH is efficient to capture any arbitrary crack propagation without any special treatment. The failure behaviour of the target plates and the residual velocities of the projectile are compared with the experimental results available in the literature. The effects of the fracture models on the numerical prediction are investigated. The implications of the projectile geometry are discussed briefly. The failure of a 12 mm thick target made of 2024-T351 aluminium alloy is also simulated with different damage models by the pseudo-spring SPH.