Scaling for Shock Response of Equipment in Different Submarines

Article type: Research Article

Authors: O'Hara, G.J. | Cunniff, P.F.

Affiliations: Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742

Abstract: This article presents scaling rules developed to predict the response of submarine equipment subjected to underwater chemical explosions. The computer was used as a surrogate for shock tests. A simplified model of a hull section was used to contain frame-mounted single degree of freedom equipment. A general scaling rule has been developed to handle the spread in the shock response attributable to the charge weight, equipment weight, and equipment frequency, where the shock response is the absolute maximum acceleration of the equipment mass as a function of the shock factor for a given charge weight. The article also examines those cases where a new hull is derived from an original hull by the linear scaling law. The solution of the shock response is well known when the internal equipment has also been linearly scaled. A new general scaling rule is developed for those cases when the equipment is not linearly scaled, that is, the equipment and charge weight used with the original hull remains unchanged when installed in the linearly scaled hull or a completely different equipment and charge weight are used with the new hull. It is emphasized that the test sections were short and devoid of typical equipment present in a real compartment. The results, nevertheless, provide trends and ratios in shock design values, not necessarily absolute design numbers. The approach taken in developing these scaling rules could be useful for enhancing field data that may exist for a given class of boat to allow greater usage of these data for different equipment subject to a variety of charge weights, attack geometries, and other boats.

DOI: 10.3233/SAV-1993-1207

Journal: Shock and Vibration, vol. 1, no. 2, pp. 161-170, 1993