Penetration of a jacketed tungsten Fibre/Zr-based bulk metallic glass matrix composite rod into semi-infinite targets

To investigate the influence of a tungsten fibre/Zr-based bulk metallic glass matrix composite (WF/Zr-MG) jacketed with C45 steel on penetration performance, this paper presents a ballistic experiment on a semi-Infinite RHA target impacted by a composite structure rod consisting of 80% volume fraction of WF/Zr-MG (with a tungsten fibre diameter of 0.3 mm) and a low-density jacketed material (C45 steel) with an impact velocity of 1700 ± 50 m/s. This composite structure rod is compared with an unjacketed WF/Zr-MG rod. Using optical metallography and electron microscopy, this study aims to provide a comprehensive microstructural overview of the penetration process, including the solid-state penetrator flow and the exchange interaction mode of rod and target materials. The penetration performance of the two structural rods is analysed through theoretical calculation. Results indicate that the jacketed structure not only provides radial and circumferential constraints for the WF/Zr-MG rod, improving its dynamic strength, but also serves as an exchange medium for the target material during the penetration process. This characteristic changes the exchange mode of the target material and affects the interface flow mechanism. The jacketed material also acts as a solid-state lubricant at the interface, reducing the resistance to the rod's penetration. The average penetration depth of the jacketed rod is 22% higher than that of the unjacketed rod, and the unjacketed rod consumption per unit penetration depth accounts for 3.45% of the initial kinetic energy. while jacketed rod was only 2.5%, which has revealed the jacketed material enhances the rod's performance and provides it with self-lubricating characteristics.