Uncoupled Solution Approach for treating Fluid-Structure Interaction due to the Near-field Underwater Explosion

Because the water exposed to shock waves caused by an underwater explosion cannot withstand the appreciable tension induced by the change in both pressure and velocity, the surrounding water is cavitated. This cavitating water changes the transferring circumstance of the shock loading. Three phenomena contribute to hull-plate damage; initial shock loading and its interaction with the hull plate, local cavitation, and local cavitation closure then shock reloading. Because the main concern of this paper is local cavitation due to a near-field underwater explosion, the water surface and the waves reflected from the sea bottom were not considered. A set of governing equations for the structure and the fluid were derived. A simple one-dimensional infinite plate problem was considered to verify this uncoupled solution approach compared with the analytic solution, which is well known in this area of interest. The uncoupled solution approach herein would be useful for obtaining a relatively high level of accuracy despite its simplicity and high computational efficiency compared to the conventional coupled method. This paper will help improve the understanding of fluid-structure interaction phenomena and provide a schematic explanation of the practical problem.