Research has recently been conducted on the use of large buried chemical explosive charges for engineering excavation. Investigations in this area were initially concerned with crater formation in relatively homogeneous rock media, a process which is now well understood. However, it has become apparent that the greatest cost and operational advantages may be realized by applying the technique to rock excavation in an underwater environment. Cratering dynamics in an underwater (two-layer) configuration have not been well understood. Small-scale modeling tests and large-scale excavation projects have revealed two new factors which significantly influence underwater cratering processes: (1) early-time dynamic effects caused by the presence of the rock-water interface and water layer; and (2) very late-time water washback and slope failure effects in the crater vicinity. The report addresses the first of these two effects by means of hydrodynamic computer calculations.

In the course of developing the capability of predicting the characteristics of water waves generated by explosions detonated in shallow water beneath the ocean floor, the pertinent data from past experiments were analysed using dimensional analysis as a framework. Data were examined from one series of high explosive cratering experiments detonated beneath the floor in shallow water, and from two series of high explosive experiments and one nuclear explosive experiment detonated above the floor in shallow water. The data indicate that the maximum radius of the water column produced by the explosion is proportional to the cube root of the ratio of explosive yield to ambient pressure at the point of detonation. Further, the data show that the maximum radius of the column of water is proportional to the square root of the product of wave height and distance from the source. The conclusions of this scheme of analysis are being tested with hydrodynamic computer code calculations.

This is the first book on explosion-generated water waves. It presents the theoretical foundations and experimental results of the generation and propagation of impulsively generated waves resulting from underwater explosions. Many of the theories and concepts presented herein are applicable to other types of water waves, in particular, tsunamis and waves generated by the fall of a meteorite. Linear and nonlinear theories, as well as experimental calibrations, are presented for cases of deep and shallow water explosions. Propagation of transient waves on dissipative, nonuniform bathymetries together with laboratory simulations are analyzed and discussed.

This book, as a volume of the Shock Wave Science and Technology Reference Library, is primarily concerned with the fundamental theory of detonation physics in gaseous and condensed phase reactive media. The detonation process involves complex chemical reaction and fluid dynamics, accompanied by intricate effects of heat, light, electricity and magnetism - a contemporary research field that has found wide applications in propulsion and power, hazard prevention as well as military engineering. The seven extensive chapters contained in this volume are: - Chemical Equilibrium Detonation (S Bastea and LE Fried) - Steady One-Dimensional Detonations (A Higgins) - Detonation Instability (HD Ng and F Zhang) - Dynamic Parameters of Detonation (AA Vasiliev) - Multi-Scaled Cellular Detonation (D Desbordes and HN Presles) - Condensed Matter Detonation: Theory and Practice (C Tarver) - Theory of Detonation Shock Dynamics (JB Bdzil and DS Stewart) The chapters are thematically interrelated in a systematic descriptive approach, though, each chapter is self-contained and can be read independently from the others. It offers a timely reference of theoretical detonation physics for graduate students as well as professional scientists and engineers.

This book introduces the core concepts of the shock wave physics of condensed matter, taking a continuum mechanics approach to examine liquids and isotropic solids. The text primarily focuses on one-dimensional uniaxial compression in order to show the key features of condensed matter’s response to shock wave loading. The first four chapters are specifically designed to quickly familiarize physical scientists and engineers with how shock waves interact with other shock waves or material boundaries, as well as to allow readers to better understand shock wave literature, use basic data analysis techniques, and design simple 1-D shock wave experiments. This is achieved by first presenting the steady one-dimensional strain conservation laws using shock wave impedance matching, which insures conservation of mass, momentum and energy. Here, the initial emphasis is on the meaning of shock wave and mass velocities in a laboratory coordinate system. An overview of basic experimental techniques for measuring pressure, shock velocity, mass velocity, compression and internal energy of steady 1-D shock waves is then presented. In the second part of the book, more advanced topics are progressively introduced: thermodynamic surfaces are used to describe equilibrium flow behavior, first-order Maxwell solid models are used to describe time-dependent flow behavior, descriptions of detonation shock waves in ideal and non-ideal explosives are provided, and lastly, a select group of current issues in shock wave physics are discussed in the final chapter.

This unique and encyclopedic reference work describes the evolution of the physics of modern shock wave and detonation from the earlier and classical percussion. The history of this complex process is first reviewed in a general survey. Subsequently, the subject is treated in more detail and the book is richly illustrated in the form of a picture gallery. This book is ideal for everyone professionally interested in shock wave phenomena.