Destruction features of impactors made of a porous alloy based on tungsten with reinforcing filler when interacting with armored obstacles

In this study, we perform calculations and experimental studies of the destruction of composite impactors from a porous tungsten–nickel–iron–cobalt alloy with 10 wt % tungsten titanium carbide at high-speed impact with steel barriers. In ballistic tests over a wide range of velocities, there is a significant excess of the penetration depth of these impactors into steel barriers compared to the mass-dimensional analog of a tungsten–nickel–iron alloy with 90% tungsten content. Based on the analysis of crater morphology and the structure of impactor fragments after introduction into the obstacle, we assume that the impactor is “self-sharpened” by localizing plastic deformation, which reduces the effective interaction area and increases the penetration depth. To describe the destruction, we modified the mathematical model of a porous ideal elastic-plastic body with a complex structure with the possibility of considering the adiabatic shear mechanism during interaction between the impactor and the obstacle.