Why is Water so Efficient at Suppressing the Effects of Explosions

Abstract

When most experienced explosives engineers first observe an explosion suppressed by bags of water, they are convinced that there has been a misfire. Depending on the amount of water and the way it is contained, the overpressure can be reduced by a factor of ten, sometimes more than twenty.1 The number of fragments from shell cases can be one hundred times less. Their velocities can be seven times. Slugs from focal point charges are stopped. Safety distances around magazines can be cut. The number of people evacuated from a bomb disposal site can be reduced. In June 1999, engineers from 33 Regiment (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) saved an entire village in Kosovo from the detonation of a 2,000-pound NATO bomb by using water bags.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Apr 01, 2018
Accession Number
AD1057624

Entities

People

  • John Parkes
  • Stephen Salter

Organizations

  • University of Edinburgh

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Bulk Modulus
  • Climate Change
  • Dielectric Polymers
  • Engineers
  • Environment
  • Environmental Protection
  • Explosions
  • Explosive Ordnance Disposal
  • Explosives
  • Heat Energy
  • International Organizations
  • Latent Heat
  • Mechanical Properties
  • Munitions
  • Polystyrenes
  • Sea Level Rise
  • Warning Systems

Readers

  • Explosive Engineering.
  • Mathematics or Statistics