A Computational Study of Bubble-Structure Interaction

The complex interaction between underwater explosion bubbles and nearby structures is studied using two-fluid computational fluid dynamics. Gravitational effects on bubble jetting are significantly different between jet-up and jet-down orientations. This paper presents computational results of underwater explosion bubble dynamics near a disk and a sphere. The results show that the bubble jetting and collapse phenomena and the consequent pressure loading are affected by the structure’s shape, the orientation of the bubble to the structure, and the bubble depth. A unifying notion emerges connecting jet strength at impact to bubble curvature at the time of jet formation. [S0098-2202(00)01804-6]