Defence Technology (Mar 2024)
Research on the influences of motion characteristics of jetting projectile charge under water
Abstract
Shaped charge warhead is important for enhancing the damage performance of underwater weapons. This paper used finite element analysis software and based on JPC water penetration experiments to examine the influence of liner parameters (wall thickness, material), charge aspect ratio, and stand-off distance on the movement characteristics of JPC in water. The findings reveal that the head diameter of the JPC increases and experiences significant erosion after entering the water, the effective length of the JPC in water undergoes two distinct phases: a growth phase and a decrease phase, with the velocity of the JPC decaying exponentially. Increasing the liner thickness, stand-off distance and the charge aspect ratio can improve the erosion resistance and the velocity retention capacity of the JPC. The optimal ranges for liner thickness and stand-off distance are 0.0363Dk to 0.0545Dk (Dk is the charge diameter), the stand-off distance should be within 1.0Dk. After the charge aspect ratio higher than 1.25, the charge structure exerts minimal influence the movement characteristics of the JPC in water. Material density plays a crucial role in the velocity decay pattern of the JPC during penetration. JPC with higher densities exhibit superior velocity retention capabilities in water, with the velocity decay pattern converging if the densities are similar. Consequently, copper, tantalum and tungsten liners are deemed appropriate for underwater shaped charge warhead. Finally, the results will provide an important reference for the design of underwater shaped charge warhead.