Experimental Study of the Effectiveness of a Model Reactive Armour without Metal Plates

Explosive reactive armour (ERA) is widely used to protect military vehicles against shaped charges and kinetic projectiles, but the use of the ERA element with metal plates is potentially hazardous to the surroundings. A patent claim has recently been issued on explosive reactive armour without metal plates. The non-metallic ERA consists of an explosive, a heavy metal powder and a binder. The aim of the present work was to experimentally test the effectiveness of such armour for disrupting cumulative jets. HMX was used as the explosive matrix and RTV silicone as the binder. Tungsten (W) powder was added to the explosive. The disruption of the cumulative jet was assessed on the basis of X-ray images, the number and size of holes in a steel plate, which was placed under the shaped charge, and the penetration depth of a steel target. It was shown that reactive armour consisting of HMX and W powder was effective in dispersing the cumulative jet, especially for a small impact angle (30°). The influence of the W particle size and the content of the W powder in the armour on jet were investigated. Finally, the effectiveness of one of the tested reactive armours was compared with that of classic reactive armour with steel plates.