Product Overview:

In this tutorial, we explore the finite element analysis of smooth particle hydrodynamics (SPH) applied to the impact of projectiles on cementitious materials. The performance of brittle, cementitious armor panels under high-rate impacts depends on various factors, including projectile and target geometry, impact velocity, projectile material type, and angle of impact.

High-strength concrete (HSC) is an attractive option for protective armor due to its lower cost, ease of rapid on-site manufacturing, and high early strength. Understanding how such armor panels behave under high-rate ballistic impacts is crucial for ensuring personnel safety in combat environments. Accurate simulations of armor performance under dynamic loads can significantly reduce the costs associated with research and development efforts related to new materials and applications.

For the modeling, the projectile is designed using steel material characterized by elastic properties, with the Johnson-Cook plasticity and damage criterion to represent its behavior under impact. On the other hand, various models exist for concrete material in Abaqus, including Crushing Damage Plasticity (CDP), brittle cracking, and more. Among these, the Johnson-Holmquist model has shown superior performance and can be implemented either through the VUMAT subroutine or directly as an input file.

Given the nature of this analysis, a dynamic explicit step is used. The general contact algorithm is employed, with contact properties defined by friction coefficients. The concrete panel is subjected to fixed boundary conditions, while the projectile is assigned an initial velocity. For the concrete panel, the SPH formulation is utilized, necessitating a sufficiently fine mesh in the contact zone.

During the simulation, the projectile penetrates the concrete, resulting in significant damage in the vicinity of the impact. Various outputs, including damage variables, stress, strain, and failure, can be analyzed.