Impact analysis of a bullet on a wooden tank containing soil in Abaqus

Categories: Abaqus, CEL and Eulerian, Composite Materials, Course, Dynamic, Engineering files, Finite Element, Fracture & Failure Analysis, Impact Engineering, Non-linear FEA, Soil modeling

Impact analysis of a bullet on a wooden tank containing soil in Abaqus

Peyman Karampour

Level

Intermediate
Duration

31 minutes
Last Updated

February 15, 2026
Certificate

Certificate of completion

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From this tutorial and simulation exercise, several key technical and practical insights were gained regarding ballistic impact analysis using ABAQUS.
First, you will learn to develop a clear understanding of how to model high-velocity projectile impacts using the ABAQUS/Explicit solver, which is specifically suited for highly nonlinear, short-duration dynamic events. The tutorial demonstrated how explicit time integration effectively captures stress-wave propagation, large deformation, and material failure during ballistic penetration.
Second, you'll learn the importance of selecting appropriate numerical formulations for different materials. The Coupled Eulerian–Lagrangian (CEL) approach proved essential for this study. By modeling the soil with an Eulerian formulation, you'll be able to simulate large deformation, compaction, and material flow without mesh distortion. Meanwhile, using a Lagrangian formulation for the bullet and wooden tank allowed accurate tracking of structural deformation and damage evolution.
Another major learning outcome involved the implementation of advanced material constitutive models:
The Mohr–Coulomb plasticity model enabled a realistic representation of soil behavior, including frictional yielding and pressure dependency.
The Johnson–Cook hardening and damage model allowed simulation of strain-rate effects, plastic deformation, and failure of the bullet under high-velocity impact.
The Hashin damage model provided insight into progressive failure mechanisms in wood, including fiber breakage and matrix cracking.
Through the tutorial, you'll also gain experience in:
Defining contact interactions between multiple materials as a general contact
Assigning initial velocities to projectiles
Setting up and controlling explicit dynamic steps
Evaluating penetration depth, stress distribution, and failure patterns
Finally, the study highlighted the energy-absorbing role of soil confinement and the structural response of wooden containment systems under ballistic loading. This understanding is valuable for designing protective barriers, storage tanks, and impact-resistant structures.
Overall, the tutorial strengthened your ability to perform advanced impact simulations, interpret damage mechanisms, and apply appropriate numerical techniques for multi-material dynamic problems.

About Course

Projectile Impact Analysis on Wood and Soil Using ABAQUS

The study of high-velocity projectile impact on protective and containment structures is of significant importance in defense, civil protection, and structural safety engineering. Understanding the interaction between a bullet and multi-material targets such as wood and soil is essential for predicting penetration depth, energy dissipation, structural damage, and overall impact resistance. Wooden containers filled with soil are commonly employed in temporary protective barriers, shooting ranges, military fortifications, and blast/ballistic mitigation systems due to their cost-effectiveness and energy-absorbing capacity.

In this study, a finite element–based impact analysis was conducted using ABAQUS/Explicit, which is well-suited for solving high-speed dynamic events involving severe contact and material nonlinearity. A coupled Eulerian–Lagrangian (CEL) modeling approach was adopted to effectively capture the interaction between the deformable projectile, the wooden tank, and the soil fill. The soil domain was modeled using an Eulerian formulation, allowing it to undergo large deformations and flow without excessive mesh distortion. In contrast, the bullet and wooden tank were modeled using a Lagrangian formulation, enabling accurate tracking of structural deformation and damage evolution.

Appropriate constitutive models were implemented to represent the material responses under impact loading. The soil behavior was described using the Mohr–Coulomb plasticity model, which accounts for frictional yielding and pressure-dependent strength characteristics of granular media. The bullet material was modeled with Johnson–Cook plasticity, incorporating strain hardening, strain-rate sensitivity, and thermal softening, along with Johnson–Cook damage to simulate progressive failure and fragmentation. The wooden tank structure was characterized using a Hashin damage model, enabling the prediction of fiber and matrix failure modes under dynamic loading.

An explicit dynamic step was employed to simulate the ballistic impact event, capturing the transient response, stress distribution, penetration mechanics, and damage propagation within the system. The analysis aims to evaluate parameters such as penetration depth, energy absorption, failure patterns in wood, and the role of soil confinement in attenuating projectile velocity.

Overall, this work contributes to a better understanding of multi-material impact resistance and demonstrates the effectiveness of advanced numerical techniques in simulating ballistic interactions involving soil–structure systems.