Prediction of Initial and Striking Velocity of Primary Fragments from Cased Spherical Explosive inside Steel Cubical Structure

Abstract

Usually, energy generated from an explosive’s detonation is transferred partly in the form of the blast impulse and some in the form of the kinetic energy of casing fragments. When detonation occurs in an explosive casing, it breaks the casing into fragments of different weights with varying velocities. The extent of destruction by these energized fragments depends upon the initial velocity they gain after an explosion. The momentum gained by the fragments decides the capability to perforate a barrier or propagate an explosion. A three-dimensional non-linear FEA method is used to model a box-shaped steel structure. This box-shaped structure is subjected to an internal cased explosion for estimating the initial and striking velocities of primary fragments. The effect of varying charge weight and the effect of the sacrificial wall on the initial and striking velocity of fragments via numerical simulations are also carried out. The initial and striking velocity values obtained through simulation are compared with the design guidelines of the code-based approach, and a good agreement is reported.