Ballistic limit

The ballistic limit or limit velocity is the velocity required for a particular projectile to reliably (at least 50% of the time) penetrate a particular piece of material. In other words, a given projectile will not pierce a given target when the projectile velocity is lower than the ballistic limit. The term ballistic limit is used specifically in the context of armor; limit velocity is used in other contexts.

The ballistic limit equation for laminates, as derived by Reid and Wen is as follows:

<math>V_b=\frac{\pi\,\Gamma\,\sqrt{\rho_t\,\sigma_e}\,D^2\,T}{4\,m} \left [1+\sqrt{1+\frac{8\,m}{\pi\,\Gamma^2\,\rho_t\,D^2\,T}}\, \right ]</math>
where

• <math>V_b\,</math> is the ballistic limit
• <math>\Gamma\,</math> is a projectile constant determined experimentally
• <math>\rho_t\,</math> is the density of the laminate
• <math>\sigma_e\,</math> is the static linear elastic compression limit
• <math>D\,</math> is the diameter of the projectile
• <math>T\,</math> is the thickness of the laminate
• <math>m\,</math> is the mass of the projectile

Additionally, the ballistic limit for small-caliber into homogeneous armor by TM5-855-1 is:

<math>V_1= 19.72 \left [ \frac{7800 d^3 \left [ \left ( \frac{e_h}{d} \right) \sec \theta \right ]^{1.6}}{W_T} \right ]^{0.5}</math></br> where

• <math>V_1</math> is the ballistic limit velocity in fps
• <math>d</math> is the caliber of the projectile, in inches
• <math>e_h</math> is the thickness of the homogeneous armor (valid from BHN 360 - 440) in inches
• <math>\theta</math> is the angle of obliquity
• <math>W_T</math> is the weight of the projetile, in lbs

External links

• http://www.answers.com/topic/ballistic-limit

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