The penetration resistance of a titanium alloy against jets from tantalum shaped charge liners

Titanium alloys, notably Ti–6Al–4V, are known to provide high mass effectiveness against kinetic energy penetrators. However, the penetration effectiveness of titanium against shaped charge jets has not been investigated in detail. An experimental study was conducted with Ti–6Al–4V billets impacted by shaped charge jets formed from 100–mm, 42$^\circ$ conical shaped charge liners fabricated from tantalum. This work represents the first study of hypervelocity, high–density jet penetration into titanium alloys.