File:UNDERWATER SHOCK MODELING (IA underwatershockm1094564178).pdf

Underwater explosions and their devastating effects are not new to the U.S. Navy; however, accurately modeling and scaling them for research and development is always an area of interest for anyone trying to protect the lives of the men and woman who serve on ships. Causing a large explosion for testing is not always easily conducted and accurately repeated. Frequency is also a common problem, without enough explosives readily available for testing purposes. Smaller models of underwater bubbles that cause the same type of shock wave as an explosive device can help determine how to prevent the damaging effects of underwater explosions more easily in more types of environments. The use of liquid nitrogen or dry ice in a sealed pressure vessel that is allowed to expand rapidly underwater is a great way of conducting safe and controlled experiments for testing. Once an accurate baseline was developed, the use of beams/plates with attached strain gauges were lowered into the water at different distances, angles, and depths from the explosion for testing. Then coatings and different pressure-relief devices were added to the structure to test how they would help a ship sustain less damage from an underwater explosion.