Fragment Mass Distribution of Naturally Fragmenting Warheads

The paper considers statistical aspects of high explosive warhead fragmentation. The modeling of fragment mass distribution is of great importance for determination of fragmenting warhead efficiency. Seven relevant theoretical fragment mass distribution models are reviewed: the Mott, the generalized Mott, the Grady, the generalized Grady, the lognormal, the Weibull and the Held distribution. Comparison of these models with representative experimental database of 30 fragmenting projectiles has shown, generally, a very good correspondence between theoretical models and experimental data. The goodness of fit analysis has indicated that the generalized Mott, the generalized Grady and the Weibull distribution enable the best description of experimental fragment mass distribution data. Further comparison of these models based on the median analysis prefers the generalized Grady distribution, and its bimodal characteristic can be physically justified. The suggested theoretical fragment mass distribution law can be applied in a complex fragmenting projectile efficiency simulation model.