A comparison of finite element analysis to smooth particle hydrodynamics for application to projectile impact on cementitious material

The response of structural components of high-strength cementitious (HSC) materials to projectile impact is characterized by high-rate fragmentation resulting from strong compressive shock waves coupled with reflected tensile waves. Accurate modeling of armor panels of such brittle materials under high-velocity projectile impact is a complex problem requiring meticulous experimental characterization of material properties. In a recent paper by the authors, an approach to handle such problems based on a modified Advanced Fundamental Concrete (AFC) constitutive model was developed. In the HSC panels considered in this study, an analogous approach is applied, and the predictions are verified with ballistic impact test data. Traditional Lagrangian finite element analysis (FEA) of these problems tends to introduce errors and suffers from convergence issues resulting from large deformations at free surfaces. Also, FEA cannot properly account for the issues of secondary impact of spalled fragments when multiple armor panels are used. Smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) is considered to be an attractive alternative to resolve these and other issues. However, SPH-based quantitative results have been found to be less accurate than the FEA-based ones when the deformations are not sufficiently large. This paper primarily focuses on a comparison of FEA and SPH models to predict high-velocity projectile impact on single and stacked HSC panels. Results are compared to recent ballistic experiments performed as a part of this research, and conclusions are drawn based on the findings.