Experimental Investigations of the Effects of Underwater Explosions on Swimbladder Fish. I. 1973 Chesapeake Bay Tests

Abstract

The experiment described in this report was designed to examine the role of various shock wave parameters in damage to swimbladder fish. Caged spot and white perch were placed at various positions in the vicinity of underwater explosions. Eleven shots were fired. Pentolite spheres of 1 to 68 pounds were used at burst depths of 5 to 70 feet. The fish specimens were placed at depths of 5 to 40 feet. The pressure-time signal at each location was recorded, and the damage to each fish specimen was determined by dissection. The experimental details are given and the fish damage and pressure-time data are summarized. The results of the preliminary data analysis are as follows: none of the simple shock wave parameters of peak pressure, impulse or energy, alone was found to be adequate for the prediction of fish damage. For spot, a correlation of damage with the drop in pressure at the time of arrival of the surface reflected shock wave was found. For white perch, all significant damage, at peak pressures below 200 psi, occurred near a shock wave duration of 0.65 msec. At the present time, no general damage rule for swimbladder fish has been extracted from these data.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jun 20, 1975
Accession Number
ADA014561

Entities

People

  • Joel B. Gaspin

Organizations

  • Naval Ordnance Laboratory

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • Counter IED
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Ground and Sea Platforms
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Cameras
  • Environmental Protection
  • Explosions
  • Explosive Charges
  • Explosives
  • Fish
  • Medical Personnel
  • Natural Resources
  • Navy
  • Oceanography
  • Ordnance Laboratories
  • Recording Systems
  • Tape Recorders
  • Test And Evaluation
  • Water Quality
  • Waveforms
  • Wildlife

Readers

  • Aquatic Ecology
  • Rocket Propulsion.
  • Seismology