Will a 9mm round penetrate a brick wall?

A standard 9mm round generally does not fully penetrate a solid brick wall. Brick is a brittle material with high compressive strength; the Poncelet cavity-expansion model predicts the round embeds within the brick or stops at shallow depth, losing most of its energy to fracture and spallation. Exact penetration depends on velocity, bullet construction, and brick density. BallisticEngine computes this per-input.

Why does a hollow-point bullet fail to expand after passing through drywall?

A jacketed hollow-point (JHP) can clog with gypsum dust when passing through drywall. The hollow cavity fills with material, preventing the bullet from expanding (mushrooming) in the next layer, so it behaves like a full metal jacket (FMJ) round and over-penetrates. This is the scenario tested in FBI Protocol #5 and is a key consideration for home-defense ammunition selection.

How does ceramic body armor destroy a bullet?

Hard ceramic armor (such as alumina) defeats bullets through hydrodynamic erosion, described by the Tate-Alekseevskii model. When the target's hardness exceeds the projectile's yield strength, the bullet erodes and shatters on impact rather than penetrating, much like water hitting rock. A soft lead or FMJ bullet retains only a fraction of its mass, while a hardened tungsten-core armor-piercing round can survive because it is harder than the ceramic.

What is the difference between BallisticEngine and other ballistic calculators?

Most ballistic calculators model exterior ballistics only (trajectory, drop, and wind drift). BallisticEngine additionally models terminal ballistics, computing how deeply a projectile penetrates into different materials using five physics models (Poncelet, Johnson-Cook, KEVLAR fiber, Mohr-Coulomb, and Tate-Alekseevskii erosion). It also exports parameters for Unreal Engine 5 Chaos Physics.

Is BallisticEngine free to use?

Yes. The core penetration and trajectory calculator is free, including all 18 materials and Unreal Engine 5 export. An optional Pro tier adds DOPE card PDF export, bulk CSV export, and unlimited multi-layer barrier stacking.

Terminal Ballistics
Calculator

Physics-based penetration simulator with real-time animations. Poncelet model · K_IC fracture mechanics · spallation · fragmentation.

PONCELET MODELFRACTURE MECHANICS SPALLATIONLIVE ANIMATIONS UE5 EXPORT10+ CALIBERS11 MATERIALS

Step 1 — Select Weapon (optional)

Step 2 — Select Ammunition

Include shotshells ⓘ

Projectile

Caliber / Round

Bullet Type

Cd = aerodynamic drag · Cp = penetration shape factor

Muzzle Velocity

370 m/s

Bullet Mass

8.0 g

Bullet Diameter

9.0 mm

Target Material

Material

ⓘ

Target Thickness

120 mm

σ_c Dynamic Strength

60 MPa

K_IC Fracture Toughness

0.40 MPa√m

Moisture Content

0% (dry)

Environment

Distance

10 m

Altitude

0 m

Impact Angle

0°

Temperature

20°C

Barometric Pressure

1013 hPa

Multi-Layer Target

Define wall structure. Bullet penetrates each layer sequentially. Layers are adjacent (touching) — no air gap between them.

Results

Penetration depth vs thickness

Trajectory + Penetration G1 DRAG MODEL ▾

Zero distance (m)

Scope height (mm)

Wind speed (m/s)

Wind direction

Max distance (m)

Step (m)

BC G1 ⓘ

Analysis & Animation

Speed1×

Approach

Impact

Penetration

Fracture

Fragments

Press PLAY to run full impact sequence animation

UE5 Export — Chaos Physics Parameters

Paste into Geometry Collection / Blueprint

Multi-Caliber Comparison

Ammo	v₀ m/s	E_k J	Pen mm	vs T	Result	v_res m/s

Material Properties Database

Material	ρ kg/m³	σ_c MPa	σ_c dyn MPa	K_IC MPa√m	C_L m/s	Model
Red Brick	1800	15	45–75	0.3–0.5	2700	JH-2
Concrete	2400	30	90–150	0.8–1.5	3800	JH-2
Pine Wood	500	35	40–60	0.4–0.6	3500	Orthotropic
Oak Wood	720	55	70–100	0.6–1.0	4000	Orthotropic
Steel A36	7850	250	350–500	50–80	5940	Johnson-Cook
Steel AR500	7860	1300	1500–1700	80–120	5940	Johnson-Cook
Aluminum 6061	2700	276	350–450	29–37	6320	Johnson-Cook
Tempered Glass	2500	150	300–600	0.7–1.2	5600	JH-2
Kevlar NIJ III	1440	2800	3000–3500	2.5–4.0	7000	Custom
Packed Sand	1600	1–3	5–15	0.05–0.1	500	Mohr-Coulomb
Compacted Earth	1900	0.5–2	3–10	0.03–0.08	400	Mohr-Coulomb

Physics Models

1. Air drag — velocity at target

v_target = v₀ · exp( −(ρ_air · Cd · A · dist) / (2·m) )
ρ_air = ρ₀ · exp(−h/8500) · (273/(273+T))

2. Effective velocity — impact angle

v_eff = v_target · cos(θ)

3. Penetration — Poncelet full form

P = (m / (2·σ_c·A)) · ln( 1 + (ρ_c·Cd·A·v_eff²) / (2·σ_c) )

4. Residual velocity

v_res = √( v_eff² − (2·σ_c·A·T) / m ) [if P ≥ T]

5. Crater radius

R_crater = 0.84 · d · ( E_k / (σ_c · d³) )^(1/3)

6. Fracture zone — LEFM

K_I = σ_c · √(π · R_k) · r_crack = (K_I/K_IC)² / π

7. Fragmentation — Grüneisen

N = 8 · (η·E_k / G_c·A_avg)^0.62, η = 0.15 + 0.15·min(P/T,1)

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Terminal BallisticsCalculator

Terminal Ballistics
Calculator