PELE : A NEW PENETRATOR-CONCEPT FOR THE GENERATION OF LATERAL EFFECTS

摘要

A new penetrator concept named PELE (Penetrator with Enhanced Lateral Effects) is presented, which generates significant lateral effects in and behind the targets without using any pyrotechnical agents. In principle, it consists of a high-density jacket, closed at its rear end and filled with a low-density material. During the penetration process, the lower density filling material is squeezed between the crater bottom and the rear part of the jacket. This induces a pressure rise, dilating the surrounding jacket, therefore enlarging the crater and finally breaking the high-g density jacket into pieces. X-ray pictures show that the fragmentation of such a projectile takes place even if the target plates are relatively thin, generating enhanced lateral effects. Therefore, this concept is especially suited to defeat spaced targets with thin plates. The lateral effects are influenced especially by the material properties of both the filling and jacket, and by impact velocity. In this context, some experimental results are presented.