Lanterna Rally

Author: C. Robert Nysmith

Publisher:

Published: 1964

Total Pages: 22

ISBN-13:

One-half-inch- diameter aluminum spheres were fired into thin copper filaments (O. OO25inch diameter and O.75 inch length) at velocities to 16,000 feet per second, then recovered and sectioned to determine the damage. The principal variable was the filament angle of inclination. Microscopic examination of the sectioned targets and photographs revealed the various crater characteristics and penetration parameters for each shot. As the angle of inclination increased from O to 7, the depth of penetration decreased by a factor greater than 3 with most of the decrease occurring in the range from 4 to 5. Above 10 inclination angle, the penetration decreased more gradually to a final depth at broadside impact of approximately 1/10 that for end-on impact. The characteristic features of the craters also changed in these inclination ranges. Limited tests with filaments of 0.00l5-inch diameter showed a decrease in penetration approximately in proportion to the decrease in diameter. This result is very preliminary and may not be applicable to conditions other than those of this test. Incidental observations showed that small curvature of the filament may have a large effect on depth of penetration for end-on impacts but has essentially no effect for impacts of inclined filaments. The data are used to evaluate the probability of penetration greater than a selected depth for randomly oriented filaments.