The Projectile Perforation Resistance of Materials: Scaling the Impact Resistance of Thin Films to Macroscale Materials

From drug delivery to ballistic impact, the ability tocontrolor mitigate the puncture of a fast-moving projectile through a materialis critical. While puncture is a common occurrence, which can spanmany orders of magnitude in the size, speed, and energy of the projectile,there remains a need to connect our understanding of the perforationresistance of materials at the nano- and microscale to the actualbehavior at the macroscale that is relevant for engineering applications.In this article, we address this challenge by combining a new dimensionalanalysis scheme with experimental data from micro- and macroscaleimpact tests to develop a relationship that connects the size-scaleeffects and materials properties during high-speed puncture events.By relating the minimum perforation velocity to fundamental materialproperties and geometric test conditions, we provide new insightsand establish an alternative methodology for evaluating the performanceof materials that is independent of the impact energy or the specificprojectile puncture experiment type. Finally, we demonstrate the utilityof this approach by assessing the relevance of novel materials, suchas nanocomposites and graphene for real-world impact applications.

Automated summary

This article introduces a new approach to study the behavior of materials during high-speed puncture events by combining micro- and macroscale experimental data. It provides insights into the relationship between size-scale effects, materials properties, and perforation resistance. The approach allows for the evaluation of material performance independent of impact energy or specific puncture experiment types.