The initial pressure wave measured at modest distances from an underwater explosion is often modeled as a spherical shock wave with an exponential decay. A closed‐form analytical ’’weak‐shock’’ solution for the subsequent propagation of such a wave has been obtained. The resulting simple formulas for peak pressure and decay constant as function of reduced range allow the prediction of the amplitude and initial slope of the wave given only the amplitude and decay constant of the original exponential shock and the density, sound speed, and parameter of nonlinearity of the water. The results are in good agreement with the Kirkwood–Bethe theory, existing measurements, and the widely used experimentally based semi‐empirical similarity formulas. An expression which gives a close approximation to the shape of the waveform as a function of distance is also derived.
Skip Nav Destination
Article navigation
December 1977
December 01 1977
Weak‐shock solution for underwater explosive shock waves
Peter H. Rogers
Peter H. Rogers
Naval Research Laboratory, Underwater Sound Reference Division, Orlando, Florida 32806
Search for other works by this author on:
J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 62, 1412–1419 (1977)
Citation
Peter H. Rogers; Weak‐shock solution for underwater explosive shock waves. J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 1 December 1977; 62 (6): 1412–1419. https://doi.org/10.1121/1.381674
Download citation file:
Sign in
Don't already have an account? Register
Sign In
You could not be signed in. Please check your credentials and make sure you have an active account and try again.
Sign in via your Institution
Sign in via your InstitutionPay-Per-View Access
$40.00