Coupled experimental and numerical parametric study of projectile penetration into granular sandy soils under low-velocity impact

Abstract

Abstract This study presents a parametric investigation of soil-projectile interaction under low-velocity penetration with a focus on the joint effect of granular soil properties and projectile characteristics. First, experimental free-fall vertical drop tests were performed on conical-headed projectiles with different apex angles and masses penetrating compacted sandy soil with different degrees of relative density. More extensive studies were carried out through numerical simulation performed with the Abaqus 2024 software to validate the experimental test results and to examine other variables such as different internal friction angles, dropping heights, projectile diameters, nose configurations, angles of impact, as well as cratering. Complementary analyses were performed to investigate projectile acceleration, energy absorption, stress, and plastic strain distribution in the soil body. The results showed that penetration depth decreased with increasing sand relative density, internal friction angle, projectile diameter, and projectile apex angle, while it increased with increasing projectile mass, drop height, and impact angle. Crater diameter was found to increase mainly by increasing drop height and projectile diameter, while its sensitivity to internal friction angle remained comparatively limited within the investigated range. To improve the physical interpretability of the results, dimensionless correlations were developed and combined with correlation-based and response-span-based sensitivity assessments to clarify the relative importance of the governing parameters. Within the investigated conditions, the study provides a validated experimental–numerical framework for interpreting low-velocity projectile penetration in granular sandy soils and for identifying the parameters that most strongly control penetration depth and crater development.