Underwater weapons effects - piston effect

Underwater warheads usually consist of a bulk mass of explosives. Detonation of such a warhead will give rise to a number of weapons effects that might break the watertight integrity of a target. Earlier continuum dynamic simulations of such phenomena have clearly shown a lack of relevant experimental data for validation of simulation results. This report includes a short background on underwater detonics and weapons effects, a summary of existing types of simulation tools (continuum dynamic codes as well as vulnerability assessment codes). Finally, an experiment concerning underwater piston effect on a stiffened hull-plating panel is documented.