Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited / In 2001 the USS WINSTON CHURCHILL (DDG-81) was subjected to three underwater explosions as part of a ship shock trial. Using the actual trial data from experiment and three-dimensional dynamic models of the ship and surrounding fluid very successful comparisons of the vertical motion have been achieved. On average, the magnitude of the vertical motion is three to four times the magnitude of athwartship motion. Previous simulations of this athwartship motion have been less accurate than the vertical motion simulations. This thesis examines recent efforts attempted to improve the simulation results of the athwartship motion including shock spectra analysis, and the reasons behind the disparities that exist between the simulated values and the actual trial data. / Lieutenant, United States Coast Guard

La conception d’une coque de sous-marin est cruciale pour son opérabilité et la sécurité de l’équipage, mais également complexe. En effet, les ingénieurs doivent prendre en compte à la fois la légèreté, la discrétion acoustique et la résistance de la coque à la pression d’immersion et aux attaques extérieures. Les explosions sous-marines représentent une menace de premier ordre pour l’intégrité de la coque, dont le comportement doit être correctement analysé. Les travaux présentés dans cette thèse portent sur le développement d’une méthode simplifiée, basée sur des formulations analytiques, pour étudier la réponse mécanique d’un cylindre profondément immergé à une explosion sous-marine. Le but de cette méthode est de fournir aux ingénieurs une estimation rapide des dommages subis par la coque cylindrique, leur permettant de simuler un grand nombre de scénarios d’explosion. Dans ce travail de thèse, le modèle de la corde plastique sur fondation plastique est repris et adapté à l’étude d’un cylindre immergé soumis à un chargement explosif, pour lequel les effets de pression d’immersion et d’interaction fluide-structure sont à prendre en compte. Une modélisation simplifiée de l’interaction fluide-structure est couplée avec le modèle de corde plastique sur fondation plastique, en considérant d’une part les effets de la pression d’immersion et d’autre part le raidissage circonférentiel du cylindre. Des expressions analytiques sont développées pour calculer l’enfoncement de la coque ainsi que son énergie de déformation plastique. Les résultats obtenus sont comparés à des résultats d’essais et de simulations numériques, ce qui permet de valider progressivement la méthode simplifiée, mais aussi de mettre en évidence ses limitations. / The design of a hull of submarine is crucial for its operability and the safety of the crew, but also complex. Indeed, the engineers have to take into account at the same time lightness, acoustic discretion and resistance of the hull to immersion pressure and to environmental attacks. Underwater explosions represent a first-rate threat to the integrity of the hull, whose behavior needs to be properly analyzed. The works presented in this thesis concern the development of a simplified method, based on analytical formulations, to study the mechanical behavior of a cylinder deeply immersed subjected to an underwater explosion. The purpose of this method is to give engineers a fast estimation of the damage undergone by the cylindrical shell, allowing them to compute a large number of scenarios of explosion.In the scope of this thesis, the model of the plastic string on plastic foundation is picked up and adapted to the study of an immersed cylinder subjected to an explosive load, for which the effects of immersion pressure and fluid-structure interaction are to be taken into account. This simplified model of the fluid structure interaction is coupled with the model of a plastic string resting on plastic foundation, by considering on one hand the effects of the immersion pressure and on the other hand the circumferential stiffening of the cylinder. Analytical expressions are derived in order to calculate the final deflection of the shell as well as its energy of plastic deformation. The obtained results are compared with results obtained with numerical simulations, which allows to validate gradually the simplified method, but also to highlight its limitations.

Underwater explosions (UNDEX) and a ship's vulnerability to them are problems of interest in early-stage ship design. A series of events occur sequentially in an UNDEX scenario in both the fluid and structural domains and these events happen over a wide range of time and spatial scales. Because of the complexity of the physics involved, it is a common practice to separate the description of UNDEX into early-time and late-time, and far-field and near-field. The research described in this dissertation is focused on the simulation of near-field and early-time UNDEX. It assembles a hybrid framework of algorithms to provide results while maintaining computational efficiency. These algorithms include Runge-Kutta, Discontinuous Galerkin, Level Set, Direct Ghost Fluid and Embedded Boundary methods. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) solvers are developed using this framework of algorithms to demonstrate the computational methods and their ability to effectively and efficiently solve UNDEX problems. Contributions, made in the process of satisfying the objective of this research include: the derivation of eigenvectors of flux Jacobians and their application to the implementation of the slope limiter in the fluid discretization; the three-dimensional extension of Direct Ghost Fluid Method and its application to the multi-fluid treatment in UNDEX flows; the enforcement of an improved non-reflecting boundary condition and its application to UNDEX simulations; and an improvement to the projection-based embedded boundary method and its application to fluid-structure interaction simulations of UNDEX problems. / Doctor of Philosophy / Underwater explosions (UNDEX) and a ship's vulnerability to them are problems of interest in early-stage ship design. A series of events occur sequentially in an UNDEX scenario in both the fluid and structural domains and these events happen over a wide range of time and spatial scales. Because of the complexity of the physics involved, it is a common practice to separate the description of UNDEX into early-time and late-time, and far-field and near-field. The research described in this dissertation is focused on the simulation of near-field and early-time UNDEX. It assembles a hybrid framework of algorithms to provide results while maintaining computational efficiency. These algorithms include Runge-Kutta, Discontinuous Galerkin, Level Set, Direct Ghost Fluid and Embedded Boundary methods. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) solvers are developed using this framework of algorithms to demonstrate these computational methods and their ability to effectively and efficiently solve UNDEX problems.

Approved for public release, distribution is unlimited / Evaluations, otherwise known as ship shock trials, have been conducted in order to determine the seaworthiness of each new class of ship commissioned in the U.S. Fleet. While beneficial in determining the overall survivability of a ship and its mission essential equipment in a severe shock environment, these Navy-mandated tests pose serious danger to the crew, ship and environment. As an alternative to these labor intensive, costly and time consuming at-sea tests, the recent advances in computer processing power have made it possible to employ finite element methods involving complex geometries in the modeling and simulation of shock response for the ship and surrounding fluid. This thesis examines the accuracy of shock simulation predictions as compared to the ship shock trials conducted on USS WINSTON S. CHURCHILL (DDG-81). An investigation of the effects of sensor location, damping and shot geometry is presented as validation of the Naval Postgraduate School modeling and simulation methodology. / Lieutenant, United States Navy

Modelling the full event of an underwater explosion (UNDEX) is complex and requires advanced modelling methods in order to achieve accurate responses. The process of an UNDEX includes a series of events that has to be considered. When a detonation is initiated, a shock-wave propagates and the rest products from the explosive material creates a gaseous bubble with high pressure which pulsates and impacts the surroundings. Reflections of the initial shock-wave can also appear if it hits the sea floor, water surface or other obstacles. There are different approaches how to numerically model the impact of an UNDEX on a structure, some with analytical approaches without a water domain and others where a water domain has to be modelled. This master’s thesis focuses on two modelling methods that are available in the finite element software LS-DYNA. The simpler method is called Sub-Sea Analysis (SSA) and does not require a water domain, thus it can be beneficial to use in an early design stage, or when only approximated responses are desired. To increase the accuracy, a more complex method called S-ALE can be used. By implementing this method, the full process of an UNDEX can be studied since both the fluid domain and explosive material are meshed. These methods are studied separately together with a combination of them. Another important aspect to be considered is that oscillations of a structure submerged in water differs from the behavior it has in air. Depending on the numerical method used, the impact of the water can be included. Natural frequencies of structures submerged in water are studied, how it changes and how the methods takes this into account. To verify the numerical models, experiments were executed with a cylindrical test object where the distance and weight of charge were altered through out the test series. It was found that multiple aspects affects the results from the experiments, that are not captured in the numerical models. These aspects have for instance to do with reflections, how accurate the test object is modelled and the damping effects of the water. It is concluded that the numerical models are sensitive when small charges and fragile structures are studied. High frequency oscillations were not triggered in the experiment but found for both methods. It should be further investigated if the methods are more accurate for larger charges and stronger structures. Experiments with larger water domain would also be beneficial to reduce effects from reflections, as well as a more accurate model of the cylinder in the simulations.