Dynamic responses and damage of cylindrical shells under the combined effects of fragments and shock waves

Experimental and numerical investigations were conducted on the dynamic response of a metal cylindrical shell under the combined effects of fragments and shock waves. Pre-formed holes were selected to simulate the penetration effect of fragments. This study investigated the influence of hole-spacing and TNT charge at a certain stand-off distance on the deformation/failure of a cylindrical shell. Three failure modes were observed in the experiments, namely, Mode I, Mode II, and Mode III. The features of each mode are discussed. Results demonstrated that the pre-formed holes on cylindrical shells will easily lead to stress concentration which may decrease the anti-blast ability of cylindrical shells. The pre-formed holes will also reduce the load area which may weaken the effect of impact loading. Change in hole-spacing will influence these factors and affect the deformation/failure of cylindrical shell. Serious deformation/failure in the cylindrical shell was observed with decreased charge of stand-off distance. The results of numerical simulations are consistent with the experiments. This finding indicates that the structural response of a cylindrical shell with pre-formed holes can be efficiently modeled using the ALE coupling model. The damage process, measurement of point deflection, pressure distribution, and energy changes were analyzed based on the results of simulation.