Effect of Pre-Strain on the Fragmentation of Hydrogen-Charged Steel 45 under Explosive Loading

Keywords

shell fragmentation, elastoplastic deformation, hydrogen embrittlement, explosive loading, number of fragments, shell structures, steel, hydrogen charging, hydrogen concentration, stress-strain state, elastioplastic deformation

Abstract

This paper presents the results of an experimental study on the effect of preliminary elastic–plastic deformation and hydrogen charging of steel on the fragmentation intensity of cylindrical shell structures under internal explosive loading. The preliminary deformation was carried out by pressing a steel ball along the axis of a cylindrical specimen, creating local plastic zones and damage. Part of the specimens, after deformation, was subjected to hydrogen charging in a special chamber to reduce the material’s plasticity. Prepared hydrogen-charged and control (uncharged) specimens, in the form of scaled projectile models, were filled with explosive charges and tested at a proving ground. The results showed that the specific fragmentation parameter for the hydrogen-charged specimens was more than 2.4 times higher than that of the uncharged ones. The proposed approach provides a technologically simple method for controlling the fragmentation of shell structures without the use of complex geometric stress concentrators.

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