Hydrodynamic Ram Analysis of Non-Exploding Projectile Impacting Water

Hydrodynamic pressures generated by a non-exploding projectile penetrating a fuel tank can be very destructive. Understanding the magnitude of the pressure and its distribution inside the tank is critical for designing structure to survive these incidents. This project uses LS-DYNA to simulate a hydrodynamic ram event created by a steel ball, traveling at a high rate, impacting a tank of water. Predicted pressures are then compared to measured pressures for validation. Additionally, modeling parameters such as element size and penalty factors for fluid structure coupling are investigated. Different ways to model reflections of pressure waves off the sidewalls are studied, as well. Good correlation is achieved for pressures at many locations inside the water tank.© 2005 ASME