Dynamic properties of Dragonshield BC, polyurea 650, and polyurea 250/1000

A 40 mm bore gas gun was used to investigate the shock response of three viscoelastic polymer materials: Dragonshield BCTM, Versathane P650, and a blend of Versathane P250 and P1000. Sabots carrying Al or Cu metal disks were launched into target assemblies containing the polymer material. The target consisted of a thin metal disk on the impact side, a 6.5-mm-thick polymer disk, and a thick metal backup disk. Fifty ohm manganin gauges were epoxied between the metal/polymer and polymer/metal interfaces to measure the interface stresses and shock transit time. Measured longitudinal stresses ranged from 3 to 47 kbar. The interface particle velocity, shock velocity, mean stress, and uniaxial strain were calculated for each experiment. This article describes the experimental technique, analysis methodology, and results.