Free Surface Motion Induced by Shock Waves in Steel

An optical technique, reported in a previous paper, has been used to measure surface oscillations on a series of thick 5.5-in. diam steel plates of different thicknesses while they deform under explosive attack. Data obtained from the four 1025 steel specimens illustrated in the previous paper, and data obtained from two additional specimens have been analyzed partially. Results are compared with predictions from the theory of elasticity for the case of a diverging pulse. Elementary theory, known to be incorrect in the physical regime studied, is shown to give many satisfactory predictions for large distances from the charge.