Numerical solution of Euler equations employing enthalpy-based equation of state for simulating shock wave propagation in porous materials

Shock wave propagation through porous materials is investigated using numerical simulations of one dimensional Euler equations of inviscid fluid flow, with the basic aim to demonstrate the application of the enthalpy-based equation of state. A one dimensional hydrodynamics solution method employing the flux-corrected transport algorithm, which does not make use of artificial viscosity, is used for all simulations. Benchmark results on the Sedov-von Neumann-Taylor blast wave problem are given thereby showing the capabilities of the algorithm for capturing strong shock profiles. Next, numerical results for plate impact problems are obtained for porous Cu, Al, Fe and W, and compared with experimental data available in the literature. It is shown that shock waves attenuate very fast even in materials of small size and low porosity. Excellent agreement is also found with experimental data on pressure versus particle velocity in the four target materials for different porosities. Thus the enthalpy-based approach, using a few experimental data of solids at normal conditions, is shown to be capable of quantitative prediction of shock wave parameters of porous materials. An accurate but simple approach for in-line calculation of the enthalpy parameters is discussed in the appendix together with numerical results.