Numerical study of the effect on blast-wave mitigation of the quasi-steady drag force from a layer of water droplets sprayed into a confined geometry

Abstract

The blast-mitigation effect produced by water droplets sprayed into a confined geometry was studied. When a one-dimensional blast wave interacts with a layer of water droplets, blast mitigation occurs that can be expected to reduce the damage from an accidental explosion. Focus was on the blast-mitigation effect produced by the quasi-steady drag force between the shocked air and the stationary water droplets. Momentum transfer due to the drag mitigated the blast wave, and the maximum blast-wave mitigation occurred just behind the layer of droplets. The study parameters (the volume fraction of water droplets, the location and length of the region with sprayed water droplets, and the mass of the high explosive) demonstrated that higher momentum loss from the air resulted in greater mitigation. The momentum loss was evaluated using the volume fraction and length of the layer of water droplets and the quasi-steady drag force when the shock wave reached the layer. Relationships were formulated between the initial conditions, the momentum loss, and the blast-mitigation effect, which made it possible to evaluate quantitatively the mitigation effect on the blast wave caused by the water droplets.