Date of Award
2026
Degree Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy in Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics
Department
Mechanical, Industrial and Systems Engineering
First Advisor
Arun Shukla
Abstract
Throughout their service life, marine structures may be subjected to extreme loading in the form of elevated depth pressures and underwater explosions (UNDEX). While the response of such structures has been well studied in a simplified open-ocean environment, a significant knowledge gap exists when these loadings develop in proximity to other structures or in environments that complicate the nature of the loads or interact directly with the structure’s response. Two environments in which these complex loads may occur are within a submerged confining environment and in proximity to the ocean floor. Comprehensive experimental investigations were conducted to understand the behavior of structures when subjected to dynamic loads within these types of environments. In Manuscript 1, a simplified methodology to predict the buckling of a thin metallic cylindrical shells subjected to transient pressure loads was found based on comparing the maximum modal vibration of a structure to its critical hydrostatic imperfection. Manuscripts 2 and 3 discuss the interaction of a gas bubble generated by an underwater bulk explosion with a granular sea floor was experimentally investigated at various simulated depths and explosive locations away from and buried within the bottom. These works found that the entrainment of grains into the flow affected the bubble’s migration, acted as dissipators of bubble energy, and that the bottom had significant effects on the spatial distribution of emitted energy. Finally, Manuscript 4 extends this work and experimentally investigated a compliant planar target when it is subjected to a buried underwater explosion.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Fontaine, Dillon T., "SUBMERGED STRUCTURES SUBJECTED TO COMPLEX UNDERWATER EXPLOSIVE LOADING" (2026). Open Access Dissertations. Paper 4574.
https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/oa_diss/4574