EXPERIMENTAL SIMULATION OF FRAGMENTATION EFFECTS OF AN IMPROVISED EXPLOSIVE DEVICE

摘要

The most common and deadly threat in urban warfare has become the Improvised Explosive Device (IED). Occurring as both vehicle borne and ground threats, this weapon can take on many forms, it often combines both blast and fragmentation hazards and is typically well concealed. This paper examines the fragmentation effects of a 155mm artillery shell used as a ground threat IED. Existing standards for the characterization of an artillery shell fragment assume that the shell is airborne at the time of detonation (distances greater than 6m from target) and not when the shell is on the ground. When a shell is detonated, the fragmentation pattern is relatively random and not conducive to repeatable laboratory testing. In order to provide a repeatable simulation of a fragment shell, a fragment simulating projectile (FSP) is used. The current standard for the simulation of a 155mm artillery shell assumes a fragment mass and velocity that occurs when the shell detonates airborne, but preliminary testing has shown that these values are not representative of the fragments generated by a shell on the ground. This paper evaluates the penetration potential of a shell fragment from an IED on the ground and attempts to determine a standard fragment mass, geometry and velocity that will allow repeatable testing that simulates the fragmentation effects of a ground borne IED.