A model for water-entry projectile with an open cavity

Abstract

Study on dynamics of a projectile running with a cavity in the process of water entry closely relates to the development of new generation of air-to-water vehicle. It becomes a key concern to develop a flexible model of the high-speed water-entry projectile. The projectile is modelled using the unsteady cavity model from Serebryakov in the frame of the rigid-body dynamics theory. Based on the model, without loss of generality, oblique water-entry projectile running with an open cavity is simulated, and numerical results are in good agreement with measured data available. The model proves effective and has a great potential to investigate ballistics of an air-dropped vehicle at the early stage of water entry.