Head-on collision between normal shock waves and a rubber-supported plate, a parametric study

The equations governing the flow resulting from a head-on collision between a normal shock wave and a rubber-supported plate are listed. The non-dimensional parameters that may affect the resulting flow are specified and their influence on the post-collision flow and waves is studied numerically. It is shown that changes in: the area-ratio between the gas and the rubber cross-sections, the incident shock wave Mach number and the mass ratio between the rubber and the plate it supports, all have significant effects on the post-collision gas and rubber responses. Changes in the rubber elasticity constant also affect the post-collision flow. The extent of the effect that changes in the above mentioned parameters have on the post-collision flow responses depends upon the loading mode used. Three different modes were studied; uni-axial stress loading, bi-axial stress loading and uni-axial strain loading.