Perspectives for SPH Applications on Shock Wave Problems: Basic Modeling and Preliminary Tests

The paper shows an application of the Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) for the numerical modeling of engineering problems involving rapid evolution over time as large strains and gradients, heterogeneity, deformable contours, mobile material interfaces and free surfaces. Following a Lagrangian approach, the continuum is discretized by means of a finite number of material particles carrying physical properties and moving according to Newton’s equations of the classical physics. Spatial derivatives of a variable at a point are approximated by using the information on the neighboring particles based on the kernel approximation. The paper provides a brief description of the basics of the method along with some numerical aspects concerning boundary treatment and time integration scheme. Furthermore, some more details are provided about the recent improvements achieved with the aim of performing future SPH simulations involving underwater explosion for bottom sediment resuspension and flushing in an artificial reservoir. Numerical examples are illustrated and discussed concerning the early 2D test cases investigating the basic features of gas explosion; and obtained results show thateven if some improvements are required to overcome the model limitations, the SPH method is promising to reproduce the impulsive dynamics of the underwater sediments. Besides that, a feasibility study has been scheduled in order to investigate possible applications in innovative fields as the Enhanced Geothermal Systems for geothermal energy production.