Numerical and experimental investigation on the explosive power of warheads under varying weather conditions

This study investigates the effect of weather conditions on the explosive power of warheads detonated in the cavity of the hill soil. A coupled experiment-numerical approach was proposed using the MM-ALE solver of the LS-DYNA code to simulate shock wave propagation in warheads, soil-air interactions, and craters formed by blast loading during sunny and rainy weather. Field blast experiments were employed to validate the numerical models, in which crater depth, diameter, and volume were measured and compared with simulated values. The model provided a relative accuracy, with relative errors in crater volume below 10% for all the cases. Numerical and experimental findings both revealed that the crater volumes produced under saturated conditions were significantly higher, with absolute differences ranging from 1.39 m 3 to 2.95 m 3 for two warheads compared to those under dry conditions. The application of the mapping technique in numerical simulations is a favorable and robust approach to the assessment of the destructive performance impacting the surrounding medium.