Modeling and Experimental Analysis of Shaped Charge Jet Characteristics

The U.S. Army CCDC Armaments Center at Picatinny Arsenal, NJ uses a variety of computational and analytical tools to predict and validate shaped charge warhead performance. In this work, an 81mm copper lined conical shaped charge loaded with the HMX-based explosive LX-14 is modeled in the hydrocode ALE3D and tested using flash radiography. Jet characterization x-ray films are digitized and analyzed using a series of computer programs developed by Miers and Pham. Experimentally determined jet parameters such as velocity profile and accumulated length/mass/energy are compared with hydrocode predictions. Additionally, the Walsh theory for plastic instability and particulation in stretching metal jets is utilized to predict jet breakup time from hydrocode models, and results are compared with experiment. The resulting effects on armor penetration performance predictions are discussed.