Underwater Movement of Obstacles Due to Explosive Detonation

Abstract

The U.S. Navy has an interest in researching the movement of obstacles in shallow water due to an explosive detonation. Obstacles that are placed in shallow water on a shoreline can damage vehicles that are attempting to land on shore. The U.S. Navy believes that explosives can be used to clear the obstacles out of the way and create a safe path for vehicles. Conducting tests on small scale is a cheap and relatively safe, but it would normally require reducing atmospheric pressure by the scale factor which cannot be easily achieved. The Naval Surface Warfare Center, Indian Head Division, is investigating a "Low Pressure" scaling method that should work for small scales in normal atmospheric pressure. The method alters the depth and size of charge in order to create the same gas bubble growth as measured in full scale conditions. This study examines the validity of the Low Pressure scaling method by comparing the results to other similar studies. This study also makes some independent analysis of factors such as depth of water, size of charge, obstacle orientation and obstacle stand off distance from the charge.