Elastic shock response of an air-backed plate to underwater explosion

Abstract

This work compares experimental and numerical results concerning the elastic dynamic response of an air-backed rectangular aluminum plate subjected to an underwater explosion. Experiments were executed in a 4 m×4 m×4 m water tank. A small quantity of charge was applied to ensure the dynamic response of the target plate remained within the elastic range. A highly sensitive combined charge, which consists of a DP60 detonator and a Detasheet, was selected to enable a small quantity of charge to react fully when it explodes in the small water tank. The shock parameters of the combined charge were determined experimentally. Subsequent experiments on a plate panel were affected by an explosion of the aforementioned combined charge at various standoff distances. The plate panel under the same experimental conditions was numerically analyzed using the package USA/DYNA. The acceleration, velocity and strain histories of the target plate obtained from both experimental tests and numerical analysis were compared. The experimental and numerical results correlate well with each other.