Extraction of energy by a variable mass plate from an explosive charge

Abstract

This paper shows how the motion of plates with variable and constant mass is different. An equation of motion of a body with variable mass is presented which takes into account the decrease in the velocity after the collision. The authors explain how the work performed by the explosion products on a plate with increasing mass does not equal the kinetic energy acquired by the plate in the absence of an external pressure, but that the presence of the pressure from the explosion products partially compensates the loss in the velocity on collision. As the plate moves and its mass increases, the relative fraction of uncompensated losses will increase, since the pressure decreases on expansion.