Experimental and numerical investigations of near-field underwater explosions

Abstract

Near-field underwater explosion (UNDEX) phenomena were investigated by experiments and numerical simulations. The UNDEX experiments were performed in a water tank using a ship-like model. One kilogram of TNT, one of the most widely used military high explosives, was used for the experiments. Numerical simulations were performed under the same conditions as in the experiments using the commercial software LS-DYNA. Underwater pressures, accelerations, velocities, and strains by shock waves were measured at multiple locations. Further, the bubble pulsation period and the whipping deformations of the ship-like model were explored. The experimental results are presented and examined through comparison with the results obtained from widely used empirical equations and numerical simulations.