Stabbing of metal sheets by a triangular knife. An archaeological investigation

• Published in: International journal of impact engineering 2002-04, Vol.27 (4), p.459-473
• Main Authors: Blyth, P.H., Atkins, A.G.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Ancient Greeks; Applied sciences; Archaeology; Armour; Exact sciences and technology; Fracture mechanics (crack, fatigue, damage...); Fracture mechanics, fatigue and cracks; Fractures; Fundamental areas of phenomenology (including applications); Mechanical properties and methods of testing. Rheology. Fracture mechanics. Tribology; Metals. Metallurgy; Penetration; Perforation; Physics; Sheet metals; Solid mechanics; Stabbing; Structural and continuum mechanics
• ISSN: 0734-743X; 1879-3509
• DOI: 10.1016/S0734-743X(01)00058-6

In order to provide a basis for comparative evaluation of ancient and early modern metal armour, experiments have been made with a simplified knife to investigate the action of stabbing into thin metal sheets. The forces required for indentation, perforation and extension of the slit were measured for sheets simply supported over a circular hole. A range of metals in different thermomechanical states, with Vickers hardnesses from 5 to 200 VPN and fracture toughnesses (crack-tip opening displacements) from 0.4 to 1.5 mm, and thicknesses from 0.5 to 2 mm, was employed. The behaviour of the simplified knife could be modelled approximately using the analysis by Wierzbicki and co-workers (Int. J. Mech. Sci. 35 (1993) 209; Int. J. Impact Eng. 19 (1997) 667) for loading a thin plate edge-on by a wedge. The results demonstrate that it is possible to rank the protective value of early armour in different metals, using readily determined mechanical properties.