The response of small scale rigid targets to shallow buried explosive detonations

Experimental and computational investigations were performed in order to better understand the mechanical response of rigid targets with various geometries to the detonation of shallow buried explosives. The motion of the targets was measured by use of high-speed digital video photography. This work involved flat targets, targets that were downwardly convex, and targets that were downwardly concave with explosive charges located at various positions beneath the targets. It was observed that, in general, angled hulls – whether downwardly concave or convex – tended to reduce the amount of momentum imparted to the center of mass of the targets. Computations were performed by use of an arbitrary Langrangian–Eulerian treatment in a nonlinear finite element code. A model based on quasi-static test evaluations of wet concrete sand was used for prediction of the soil behavior. The computational technique provided very good agreement between computation and experiment.