The response of rigid plates to blast in deep water: fluid–structure interaction experiments

Laboratory-scale dynamic experiments are performed in order to explore the one-dimensional response of unsupported rigid plates to loading by exponentially decaying planar shock waves in deep water. Experiments are conducted in a transparent shock tube allowing measurements of plate motion and imparted impulse, as well as observation of cavitation in water, including motion of breaking fronts and closing fronts. Loading of both air-backed and water-backed rigid plates is examined, and the sensitivity of plate motion and imparted impulse to the structural mass and to the initial hydrostatic pressure in the water is measured. Experiments also serve to validate recently developed theoretical models, whose predictions are found to be in agreement with measurements.