Deformable Special-Shaped Projectile Impacting Basalt Target: Experiments and Analysis

Using kinetic energy to crush high-strength rocks and then collect particle samples has attracted much attention in the Near-Earth Asteroid (NEA) sampling scheme. In this study, two deformable special-shaped projectiles of tantalum: petal-penetrating type (T1), petal-non-penetrating type (T2), and high-speed (453.0–612.0 m/s) impact experiments, were designed to study the projectile-target interaction and rock fracture mechanisms based on a 14 mm ballistic gun platform. Results shown that deformation of the Special-Shaped Projectile is related to the plasticity of material and projectile configuration; The projectile-target interaction of the T2 is two-phase processes: multi-point simultaneous impact and the Taylor impact, which increase the diameter and depth of the crushing zone and raise the mass of spalled-rock particles about three times than T1. The two-phase processes inspiring to create the projectile’s head and cylinder section from different properties of materials respectively. This research inspires the design of the deformable special-shaped projectile and the comprehension of the fracture mechanisms of rocks under high-speed impact.