Shock mitigation effects of cellular cladding on submersible hull subjected to deep underwater explosion

• Shock resistance of coated submersible hull under deep water blast is investigated.
• Cellular claddings are very effective on mitigating shock damage of pressure hull.
• Stress enhancement appears when the cladding is fully densified.
• The effects of hydrostatic pressure on system response are discussed.

Warships and submarines can be severely damaged by underwater explosion (UNDEX) shock loadings, so improving shock resistance ability of such weapons is of great importance. However, studies on the shock resistance ability of submersible hull subjected to deep UNDEX shock wave are rare. In this paper, the transient response of bare/coated submersible hull subjected to combined loads of hydrostatic pressure and shock wave is analyzed numerically by Abaqus, with special attention on shock mitigation capability of cellular cladding coated on the pressure hull. The local cavitation in water and transient response of bare and coated hulls are obtained. Additionally, the effects of the initially applied hydrostatic pressure on the system response are discussed. The results indicate that the cellular cladding coated on the pressure hull is very effective on reducing hull deformation, velocity and acceleration response, and the soft cladding is more effective than the strong cladding if the cladding is not fully densified. Otherwise, the stress enhancement appears which can amplify the local response of coated hull. The research results are useful in designing surface shields for submersible hull so as to enhance its resistance to underwater shock damage.