Ballistical investigation and improvement of the hull area of door and hatch systems in light armored vehicles

Armour steel has been one of the most significant main materials in protecting the armoured vehicles for many years. When determining the ballistic limits of armour steels that are used to protect the armoured vehicles, vertical shot tests to the armour steel with the ammunition that is suitable for requested protection level are performed via experimental studies. On the other hand, via theoretical studies, the ballistic effect of relevant ammunition that affects the armour steel is carried out. Although it has been observed that the data which has been obtained as a result of both experimental and theoretical studies has delivered the best results under ideal conditions, it should be noted that in practical, there could be ballistic vulnerabilities in edge joint areas where armour steel plates fail to meet precisely. One of the most important criteria for numerical analysis method is to define the material and fracture models with the appropriate parameters. Therefore, Johnson Cook Material Model which is appropriate for high strength steels has been used to define the ammunition of 7.62x51 (AP) armour piercing steel core and Armox 500T armour steel. Johnson Cook Material Model is a frequently used method as it describes the progressive damage and failure of material in Explicit Dynamics Module. Hence, in this study, when carried out numerical analysis, Explicit Dynamics Module that complies with Johnson Cook Material Model has been preferred. In this thesis, the ballistic weaknesses of door and hatch systems in light armoured vehicles to the shooting directions that are stated in the NATO 4569 AEP 55 KE and TS EN 1523 standards, are going to be investigated by the finite element analysis function of the Explicit module in Ansys software program. At the end of this thesis, the clearance areas in the door/hatch and body connection regions, of the light armoured vehicles, which have a ballistic protection level in Stanag 4569 Level 2 and above, that do not have any ballistic weaknesses, are going to be stated. KEYWORDS: Ballistic penetration, 7.62x51 (AP) armour piercing bullet, Armox 500 T armour plate, Ballistic vulnerability, Ballistic protection levels.