Formation characteristics and penetration performance of an underwater shaped charge jet

Abstract

This study aims to investigate the formation characteristics and penetration performance of an underwater conical shaped charge jet. First, a new theoretical model for underwater jet formation is proposed by the virtual mass method. Based on the theoretical model and the ALE algorithm, the influences of standoff height, cone angle, liner thickness and initiation manner on the jet formation characteristics and penetration ability are analyzed. Then the experiments of underwater shaped charge jet are carried out to verify the theoretical and simulation results. Finally some instructive conclusions are drawn: (i) the theoretical model based on the virtual mass method can accurately predict the initial jet parameters and calculate the penetration depth, and the error between the theoretical and experimental results is less than 8%. (ii) The penetration depth initially increases and then decreases with increasing standoff height. The optimal standoff height is approximately 4–4.5 times the charge diameter. (iii) at the optimal standoff height, the penetration depth decreases with the increase of the cone angle, and the optimal cone angle is 40°–50°. (iv) The penetration depth decreases with increasing the liner thickness, and the jet shape and penetration depth formed by the ring initiation manner are better.