Effect of a Single Particle on Water-Tube Interaction Subjected to Axial Impact Loading

This study numerically and experimentally investigated the effect of a single solid particle on the interaction between water and an elastic tube due to a water hammer. The investigation was conducted by impacting a steel cylinder projectile (at a speed of 2.4 m/s) onto the surface of a water–filled polycarbonate tube to initiate the water hammer propagating through both the tube and water. We examined the effect of a single cylindrical particle on the impact tube response for different particle radii and materials (steel, aluminum, and polycarbonate). Computational and experimental strains observed in front of the particle were in good agreement; the radial tube displacement was higher when the particle was made of stiffer material. In the experiment, the tube response in the middle of the particle was strongly affected by the size of the particle rather than the particle’s material. To evaluate the maximum impact response of hoop strains around the particle, a new model was proposed that treats the particle as a rigid body, and it successfully captured the experimental tendencies.