Simulation of impact/explosive driven spallation in metals: comparative study of damage and dynamic strength models

Spallation refers to fracture occurring in materials due to tensile loading. This paper presents an overview of our extensive one- and two-dimensional simulations done to study spallation in impact/explosive loaded Copper or Mild Steel targets, using an Arbitrary-Lagrangian-Eulerian hydrocode. Three methods of computing the spall strength and spall thickness have been employed. The computed spall parameters have been compared with Russian spall experiments. In impact loaded targets, due to a square shock wave, only one scab has been observed. In the case of explosive loading, as the rarefaction associated with the incoming shock wave is triangular, there occur many high-tension regions leading to the formation of multiple scabs (typically 2-3 scabs). Effect of flier velocity and target temperature on spallation has been studied. These trends match with experiments. Edge effects due to finite diameter of the target attenuate the incoming shock wave by lateral release, resulting in more marked damage near the axis than on the periphery. Four damage models and three dynamic strength models have been examined to determine the best-suited model for spallation studies. It is found that the Void Growth (VG) damage model and Zerilli-Armstrong strength model yield spall parameters close to experiments.