Multifluid Hydrodynamic Simulation of Metallic-Plate Collision Using the VOF Method

The present study is concerned with a one-dimensional problem in explosive welding that pertains to the collision of lead and steel plates. The metal plates and the surrounding air are represented as separate immiscible phases governed by independent equations of state. A multifluid Godunov-type (finite-volume) computational algorithm, based on the mechanical-equilibrium Euler equations and incorporating pressure relaxation, is used to numerically describe the evolution of the waves resulting from the collision. The position of the interface (contact discontinuity) between immiscible phases is tracked by means of the volume-of-fluid (VOF) method. The numerical model allows one to account for the existence of tensile stresses in metal and registers them as regions of negative pressure. The computed arrival time of the unloading wave at the interface between the plates agrees with the experimental data and with simulation results obtained via different methods.