On the determination of the mesh size for numerical simulations of shock wave propagation in near field underwater explosion

•The numerical accuracy of underwater explosion is sensitive to the mesh size.•The suitable mesh size for numerical analyses is charge weight dependent.•A method to select mesh sizes in simulations of underwater explosion is proposed.•A variable λ is introduced as a criterion for the determination of the mesh size.•Reasonable mesh sizes are suggested for different blast scenarios.

It is well known that the accuracy of mesh-based numerical simulations of underwater explosion strongly relies on the mesh size adopted in the analyses. Although a numerical analysis of underwater explosion can be performed with enough accuracy by using considerably fine meshes, such fine meshes may lead to substantially increase in the CPU time and the usage of computer memory. Thus, how to determine a suitable mesh size in numerical simulations is always a problem confronted when attempting to study the shock wave propagation resulting from underwater explosion and the subsequent response of structures. Considering that there is currently no universally accepted method for resolving this problem, this paper aims to propose a simple method to determine the mesh size for numerical simulations of near field underwater explosion. To this end, the mesh size effects on the shock wave propagation of underwater explosion are carefully investigated for different charge weights, through which the correlation between mesh sizes and charge weights is identified. Based on the numerical study, a dimensionless variable (λ), defined as the ratio of the radius of charge to the side length of element, is introduced to be the criterion for determining the mesh size in simulations. It is interesting to note that the presented method is suitable for various charge weights. By using the proposed meshing rule, adequate balance between solution accuracy and computational efficiency can be achieved for different blast scenarios in numerical simulations of underwater explosion.