Estimation of the bullet depth of penetration based on the numerical integration of stochastic differential equation

The ballistic performance of materials subjected to projectile impact loading is analyzed based on the determination of the ballistic limit velocity (BLV) or the depth of penetration (DoP). The ballistic assessment of thick plates is generally based on the use of the DoP parameter. Experimental observation reveals the randomness of the DoP of a given projectile penetrating the target material at a given impact velocity. This contribution models the projectile DoP using the Brownian motion approach. The key advantage of the developed model is that it supplies insights about the statistical distribution of the DoP instead of only providing an analytical estimation of this parameter. Furthermore, if perforation starts to occur, this approach might also yield information about the residual velocity and its dispersion. Finally, the model results are compared with the ones produced by the most existing methods.