Saline Ice Penetration. A Joint CRREL-NSWC Test Program

• Main Authors: Cole, David M., Steves, Howard K.
• Other Authors: COLD REGIONS RESEARCH AND ENGINEERING LAB HANOVER NH
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 1987
• Subjects: Snow; Ice and Permafrost; *PROJECTILES; *ICE PENETRATION; VELOCITY; TEMPERATURE; THICKNESS; IMPACT; SIZES(DIMENSIONS); SHAPE; TEST METHODS; CAVITIES; TARGETS; DEPTH; COATINGS; PENETRATION; ICE; FLIGHT; SHEETS; PRESSURE; WALLS; GUNS; NOSES; CONICAL BODIES; BLUNT BODIES; SEA ICE; TRUNCATION; FLOATING BODIES; CRUSHING; ABRASION; SALT WATER; ICE SHEETS; SALINE ICE; AS91D; PE61101A; WU424; Ice; Ice Sheet; permafrost; Sea ice
• Online Access: http://www.dtic.mil/docs/citations/ADA189206; http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?&verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=ADA189206

This paper reports on the response of a floating saline ice sheet to penetration and perforation by 25.4-mm-diameter projectiles with three nose shapes: a full cone, a truncated cone and full flat. Impact velocity was varied to produce behavior ranging from flight penetration to complete perforation of the 21- to 280-mm-thick ice sheet. The extent of crushing and fracturing adjacent to the path of the projectile was quantified, indicating the existence of a zone of crushing extending 1 to 2 body diameters into the ice sheet from the cavity wall. A series of shots into free-floating targets indicated that for penetrations of roughly two-thirds of the sheet thickness, the depth of penetration did not vary significantly as the target size was reduced to 24 body diameters. Tests on coated projectiles indicated that no significant abrasion occurred between the ice and nose area of the projectile. Information is also presented on the effects of gun pressure, nose shape, average sheet temperature and angle of attack on the depth of penetration.