PHYSICAL TESTING AND MODELING OF BOLTED AND WELDED CONNECTIONS FOR ARMORED VEHICLE MODELS

Protection Engineering Consultants (PEC) has performed static and dynamic-pendulum tests on bolted and welded connection sub-assemblies to generate data for development and validation of modeling approaches capable of accurately predicting the behavior of connections exposed to shock loads. The connections consisted of Rolled Homogeneous Armor (RHA) steel plates, Grade 8 bolts, and fillet welds of ER80-S wire, as typically used in armored vehicles. A summary of the forty physical tests on nine connection configurations are provided along with strain gage and Digital Image Correlation (DIC) data. The specimens were designed to have typical failure modes, i.e. bolt shear, plate tear-out, and weld shear fracture. Using these data, high-fidelity numerical models were developed, with exceptionally good comparisons to the experimental data. During the development of the numerical models, crucial modeling parameters were identified and were shown to have significant influence to the calculated response.