Browsing by Author "Agu, Henry"

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    Application of shell jetting analysis to determine the location of the virtual origin in shaped charges
    (Elsevier, 2018-07-25) Agu, Henry; Hameed, Amer; Appleby-Thomas, Gareth J.
    Shaped charges are designed to produce high-velocity jets for penetration. During jet formation, the liner collapses and converges at a point source, also known as the virtual origin (VO), along the distance–time plane. The location of the VO must be known to allow the development of penetration analytical models. Here we determined the location of the VO using the ANSYS® Autodyn 2D shaped charge jetting technique. Jetting analysis was conducted for two shaped charges of 18 and 32 mm diameter. The explosive and casing were represented by Eulerian two-dimensional finite difference grids, whereas the liner was modelled using a shell formulation. The summary/history of the jetting analysis was used to determine the VO position in the shaped charges. Interpolating the point of intersection on the liner between the jet velocity (U-Jet) and the cumulative jet mass revealed the location of the VO at a distance equivalent to approximately two-thirds of the inner cone diameter of the shaped charges, in agreement with earlier studies based on different methods. Validation of this technique using the DiPersio, Simon and Merendino (DSM) model based on the Allison-Vitalli equation also showed good agreement with the numerical results.
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    Comparison of the microstructure of machined and laser sintered shaped charge liner in the hydrodynamic regime
    (Springer, 2019-07-30) Agu, Henry; Hameed, Amer; Appleby-Thomas, Gareth J.
    To gain further insight into the mechanisms underlying jet formation and elongation of laser sintered shaped charge liners under high strain rate deformation, Cu–Cr–Zr alloy liners fabricated by selective laser sintering process were deformed by explosive detonation. Their as-manufactured (liner) and resultant (slug) microstructure have been investigated in comparison with those of traditional machined liners employing both optical and scanning electron microscopy. The resultant slug microstructure of both machined and laser sintered liners revealed a smaller refined equiaxed grain size consistent with traditionally fabricated liners, characteristic of dynamic recrystallization. The disappearance of the (originally present) pores in the post-shot/recovered material microstructure was observed for laser-sintered liners. Comparison of the forward and rear region of the slug revealed variations in liner deformation, a result attributed to temperature variation across the slug. In contrast with the machined liner, a unique feature of precipitation, observed in the ending (slug) microstructure of the laser sintered liner is indicative of the associated extreme high strain and strain rate liner deformation which occurred during slug formation. The precipitates are likely compounds of Chromium and Zirconium which are constituents of the laser sintered copper alloy—the first time this observation is reported. This study provides a link between post charge evolution microstructure and liner manufacturing processes, potentially providing a new route to help optimise jet formation and effectiveness.
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    The dynamic response of dense 3 dimensionally printed polylactic acid
    (Springer, 2019-05-22) Agu, Henry; Hameed, Amer; Appleby-Thomas, Gareth J.; Wood, David
    Polylactic acid (PLA) is commonly used as a feedstock material for commercial 3D printing. As components manufactured from such material become more commonplace, it is inevitable that some of the resultant systems will be exposed to high strain-rate/impact events during their design-life (for example, components being dropped or even involved in a high-speed crash). To this end, understanding the shock properties of polylactic acid, in its role as a major raw material for 3D printed components, is of particular importance. In this work, printed samples of PLA were deformed by one-dimensional shock waves generated via the plate impact technique, allowing determination of both the Hugoniot Equation of State (EOS) and shear strength of the material. Both linear and non-linear EOS forms were considered in the US-Up plane, with the best-fit found to take the general form US=1.28+3.06−1.09Up2" role="presentation" style="display: inline-table; line-height: normal; letter-spacing: normal; word-spacing: normal; overflow-wrap: normal; white-space: nowrap; float: none; direction: ltr; max-width: none; max-height: none; min-width: 0px; min-height: 0px; border-width: 0px; border-style: initial; position: relative;">US=1.28+3.06−1.09U2pUS=1.28+3.06−1.09Up2 in the Us−Up" role="presentation" style="display: inline-table; line-height: normal; letter-spacing: normal; word-spacing: normal; overflow-wrap: normal; white-space: nowrap; float: none; direction: ltr; max-width: none; max-height: none; min-width: 0px; min-height: 0px; border-width: 0px; border-style: initial; position: relative;">Us−UpUs−Up plane, consistent with other polymers. Use of lateral Manganin gauges embedded in the material flow allowed consideration of lateral stress evolution at impact pressures ranging from 0.3 to 4.0 GPa. Shear strength was observed to increase with impact stress, however, with minimal strengthening behind the shock front. Deviation of the measured stress from the predicted elastic measurement (corresponding to the PLA’s Hugoniot Elastic Limit) was observed at longitudinal stress of 0.90 ± 0.05 GPa, within range of polymeric materials of similar characteristics—the first time this important parameter has been measured for PLA. As a result, this material characterisation will allow numerical modellers to accurately predict the structural response of PLA-based components/structures against high strain rates such as impacts or drops.
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    The effects of 3D printed material properties on shaped charge liner performance
    (Cranfield University, 2019) Agu, Henry; Hameed, Amer; Appleby-Thomas, Gareth J.
    Shaped charges operate by explosively loading a (typically metallic) liner to produce a jet travelling at extremely high velocity (9-12 km/s). Such explosive loading involves highly non-linear transient phenomena. As such, a very wide range of physical processes must be considered to enable accurate characterisation of such events – with material behaviour within these (pressure / strain-rate) regimes providing insight into problems ranging from shaped charge performance itself through to formation of new material phases at high pressures. Unlike other high strain impact events, the shaped charge phenomenon results in hydrodynamic material flow of the liner which is an integral aspect of the shaped charge design. As such, the study of shaped charge liners has been the subject of numerous scientific research studies for over 50 years since its discovery. When explosively loaded, the liner is stretched extensively during their elongation to form a jet. The jet length depends on the ductility of the liner material, and this is strongly linked to the microscopic crystal structure, which depends on the original material properties and the processes used to produce the liners. There are several processes currently used for liner production. This thesis outlines the different liner production techniques, their advantages/disadvantages and explores the potential of employing additive manufacturing (3D printing) technique for shaped charge liner production. As 3D printed parts are being considered as a possible replacement for conventionally processed parts, this PhD work fits into this long-term vision; with built parts compared in density and mechanical strength to their bulk material equivalents. More so, 3D printing is shown to present some potential benefits for the production of efficient liners including high precision, cost-effectiveness and the potential to realise customized geometries. The use of fine powders may also allow alternative microstructures to be produced with potentially interesting results. This element of the study forms the first part of this thesis, aimed at investigating the mechanism elucidating the performance of 3D printed liners processed through direct metal laser sintering process (selective laser sintering) and filament deposition modelling processes (Polylactic Acid). The next part of this work provided additional insights on the additive manufactured processed employed through investigation of the dynamic behaviour of polylactic acid, employed in the filament deposition modelling process and static (optical and scanning micrographs) observation of the laser sintered liners in their as - manufactured and deformed state, in comparison with traditional machined liners. Autodyn 2D numerical hydrocode was employed to understand how temperature influences the deformation pattern (grain refinement); providing new insights on liner deformation. Finally, a novel computational technique to determine the Virtual Origin of shaped charges was developed to provide a ready route to predict more accurate SC performance.