Features of an underwater explosion record as function of depth

Abstract

The waveform from a deep-fired underwater explosion bears only superficial resemblance to its shallow-fired counterpart. The latter may be characterized as a highly nonlinear pulsation, while the former tends to look more like a linear damped oscillation. In this report, we expand upon the results given in an earlier paper. [J. Acoust. Soc. Am. Suppl. 1 69, S97 (1981)]. Calculations have been performed which yield theoretical values for features of the explosion waveform, such as the bubble pulse and first negative pulse pressure, as function of detonation depth. These calculations support the conclusion that the bubble pulse amplitude increases slowly with depth. The negative pulse, however, increases at a much more rapid rate and may even overtake the bubble pulse if the ambient pressure is sufficiently high! Estimates of the power law dependence of the features are presented.