Internal explosive loading of steel pipes

A programme of numerical, analytical and experimental studies is being carried out at the University of Liverpool on seamless steel pipes 9.5 mm thick with an outer diameter of 324 mm which have been subjected to internal explosive loading. The objective of the study, which is sponsored by AWE plc, Aldermaston, is to determine the failure mechanism of such a pipe under a very high rate of loading. The loading imparted to a vessel wall, arising from the detonation of a high explosive is sensitive to the charge shape. Numerical simulations have shown that for the same charge weight, a cylinder-shaped charge, of equal diameter and length, produces more deformation than the equivalent sphere. A Johnson–Cook strength model in the numerical simulation is in good agreement with test data.