Dynamic failure behavior of steel wire mesh subjected to medium velocity impact: Experiments and simulations

Considerable property damage is caused by windborne debris during extreme weather. The object of interest in this study, steel wire mesh, is an effective means of providing protection against windborne debris. However, the design and manufacture of security screens made of wire mesh typically depend on a laborious and imprecise trial-and-error process. Additionally, this anisotropic, inhomogeneous, and porous material comprising in-contact wires has rarely been examined in a comprehensive manner. Considering these issues, the current research experimentally tested the impact response of plain-weave steel wire mesh by firing a spherical projectile in a velocity regime ranging from 112 m/s to 152 m/s. The deformation and failure mechanisms of the wire mesh during the impact process were investigated via high-speed photography. The results showed that the wire mesh behaved as a membrane and failed mainly in tension over the impact velocity range of interest. Further, with a detailed finite element model consisting of interlaced warp and weft wires, additional virtual tests were carried out at a broader velocity range of 20–200 m/s. The findings indicated a linear relationship between residual velocity and impact velocity under a velocity range that exceeded the ballistic limit. The energy absorbed by the wire mesh increased with impact velocity (or impact energy) before the material reached peak absorption at the ballistic limit. Beyond this threshold, the energy absorption gradually declined to an asymptotic level. Such energy absorption was well correlated with the extent of transverse deformation in the wire mesh. Internal energy due to the deformation of wires and frictional energy associated with the interactions between sliding wires at their crossovers were two primary energy absorbing mechanisms. Moreover, the effects of impact location, clamped wire direction and projectile size were analyzed.