Pick the solver, material, and penetrator from the recipe that matches the configuration you want to test, then read the listed output first. Layered, spaced, and ceramic setups can start on NORMAL; reactive armor packs must use ADVANCED or the output is misleading; shaped-charge defense is built at normal incidence and reads the per-layer ballistic limit. Thickness, angle, and spacing are not fixed by the recipe — they are the test variables you adjust to answer your specific question.
Recipe summary
| Configuration | Solver | Material pairing | Penetrator family | First output to read |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Layered stack | NORMAL or ADVANCED | Two or more RHA plates in series | Any national service round | Ballistic limit |
| Spaced array | NORMAL or ADVANCED | Two RHA plates separated by an air gap | Any national service round | Residual velocity |
| Reactive armor packs | ADVANCED required | RHA back plate plus reactive pack layer | Service HEAT round or custom core | Per-layer ballistic limit |
| Ceramic with backing | NORMAL, ADVANCED, or ULTRA | Ceramic face plate over ductile backing | Any national service round | Plug ejection |
| Shaped-charge defense | ADVANCED or ULTRA | Shaped-charge defense material in front of RHA | Service HEAT round at normal incidence | Per-layer ballistic limit and residual velocity |
Recipe: layered stack
Place two or more plates in series with no air gap between them. Start with RHA steel so the result is comparable to the baseline single-plate solve from the beginner's guide. Use a national service round so the penetrator behaves predictably. NORMAL is acceptable for two-plate stacks; switch to ADVANCED if you add a third plate or mix materials, because per-layer energy accounting only shows up on ADVANCED. Read the ballistic limit first; that is the velocity at which the stack is expected to perforate. Residual velocity and plug ejection are the secondary checks for stack effectiveness.
Recipe: spaced array
Place two RHA plates with an air gap between them. The gap is the variable — start with a small gap (close enough that the stack still acts as a single thick plate) and a larger gap (far enough that the penetrator loses velocity between hits) to see the spaced-armor effect. NORMAL is fine for the first run; switch to ADVANCED if you want per-layer energy accounting. Residual velocity is the output that shows whether the gap helped: a lower residual velocity than the equivalent thickness solid plate means the spacing is doing useful work.
Recipe: ceramic with backing
Place a ceramic face plate over a ductile backing layer (the documented ceramic-with-backing material handles both layers). Pick any national service round; ceramic with backing is modeled correctly under all three solvers. NORMAL is enough to read the baseline ceramic effect. Plug ejection is the output to watch first — ceramic breaks up the penetrator and the backing catches fragments, so the presence of plug ejection means the ceramic is doing its job. Fragmentation and spall are the secondary reads.
Recipe: shaped-charge defense
Place the shaped-charge defense material in front of an RHA plate with enough spacing that the jet has time to destabilize before hitting the primary plate. Pick a service HEAT round and build the test at normal incidence first — off-normal angles are an experiment, not a first test. ADVANCED is the safe minimum; ULTRA is appropriate if you want continuum-grade physics on the jet interaction. Read the per-layer ballistic limit first and then the residual velocity after the full stack — together they tell you whether the defense layer disrupted the jet.
After the first solve
Once the first solve runs cleanly, change one variable at a time and re-run. Increase thickness, change the angle, widen or tighten the spacing, or swap the penetrator to a different national service family. When the differences stop surprising you, move to ADVANCED for any configuration that still reads as a single plate on NORMAL, and reserve ULTRA for shaped-charge or continuum-grade questions where CPU time is acceptable.
FAQ
Which solver handles reactive armor packs?
ADVANCED supports reactive armor packs and per-layer energy accounting. Use ADVANCED — not NORMAL — when the stack includes reactive armor packs or spaced arrays.
Which ArmorSim output should I read first for a new configuration?
Residual velocity is the default first read across configurations. Ballistic limit is the better first read for a layered stack or a shaped-charge defense; plug ejection is the better first read for ceramic with backing; per-layer ballistic limit is the better first read when reactive packs are involved.
Are thickness, angle, and spacing part of an ArmorSim recipe?
No. A recipe names the configuration, the solver, the material pairing, and the penetrator family. Thickness, angle, and spacing are the test variables you adjust to answer the specific question you are asking — change one at a time and re-run.
How does the gap change a spaced-armor test?
A wider gap lets the penetrator lose velocity between hits; a tighter gap makes the stack behave more like a single thick plate. Residual velocity is the output that shows the gap is doing useful work — a lower residual velocity than the equivalent solid plate means the spacing is helping.
Why is plug ejection the first read for ceramic with backing?
Ceramic breaks up the penetrator and the backing catches fragments. Plug ejection is the output that shows the ceramic is doing its job — its presence means the face plate disrupted the round and the backing layer expelled a disc-shaped piece.