Attenuation of Blast Overpressures from Liquid in an Elastic Shell

Parameters of air blast waves produced by a ground explosion of explosive charges of mass G=0.1 – 1 kg placed in a liquid bounded by an elastic shell were measured experimentally. Encapsulation of the liquid in the elastic shell leads to an increase in the compressibility of the medium which transfers the energy of explosion products to the air and contributes to a significant decrease in airblast amplitude at a reduced distance R/G ^1/3 = 0.63 – 6.8 m/kg^1/3. The efficiency of attenuation of overpressures by immersing an explosive in a liquid bounded by an elastic shell is comparable to efficiency of damping blast waves by gasfilled twophase systems. It is shown that the main parameter of blastwave attenuation is the ratio of the mass of the liquid to the mass of the explosive charge rather than the viscosity and density of the liquid.