Finite Element Analysis of Deep Elliptical Submersible Pressure Hull Subjected to a Side-On Non-Contact Underwater Explosion

Abstract

Predicting the dynamic response of a floating and submerged structure subjected to underwater explosion is greatly complicated by the explosion of a high explosive, propagation of shock wave, bubble-pulse, complex fluid-structure interaction phenomena and the dynamic behavior of the floating structures. A numerical simulation has been carried out to examine the behavior of elliptical submersible pressure hull to non-contact underwater explosion (UNDEX) and take the effect of bubble-pulse. The finite element package ABAQUS was used to model the UNDEX and the fluid-structure interaction (FSI) phenomena. The pressure wave resulting from an UNDEX was assumed to be a spherical wave. Plastic strain and the time histories of the wet-surface displacement, velocity and von Mises stress are presented. The analytical results are valuable for designing underwater vehicles to resist UNDEX.