Underwater explosion response of curved composite plates

The effect of plate curvature, plate thickness, and thickness distribution on the response of curved composite plates subjected to far field underwater explosion (UNDEX) loading has been studied through computational simulations. In this study five panels with increasing radii of curvature are considered. Furthermore, the effect of plate thickness is considered by investigating three plate thicknesses for a given radii of curvature. Finally, a comparison is made between a plate with a uniform thickness and a plate with equal mass but a thicker outer boundary and thinner midsection. The effects are assessed using the plate center point deflection, full field deformation evolution, and fluid structure wave interaction. The results show that when subjected to shock pressure loading the deformation mechanics of the plate is significantly affected by the amount of curvature, thickness, and thickness distribution.