ABSTRACT

Although shaped charges can trace their origin to the early 1900s (and some authors suggest even further back), it was not until the Second World War that their use proliferated. Monroe in the United States and von Foerster and von Neumann in Europe discovered that a hollow charge, i.e., a block of explosive with a cavity on the target side, caused a deeper penetration than a similar charge that had no cavity. About the time of the Second World War, the combatants determined that if they lined this cavity with a metal and pulled the charge back from the surface, they achieved an even deeper penetration. The penetration depths achieved were on the order of several warhead diameters. These warheads were and still are so effective that they continue to be developed by nearly every nation. It is the goal of this section to describe their behavior and analysis. Shaped charge warheads fall under the category of chemical energy (CE) warheads

because they do not require any KE from the delivery system to be effective. This property makes them ideal for use in items such as shoulder fired weapons, grenades, mines, and even static cutting charges. The oil industry as well as the steel industry use them in large numbers to clear plugs or open up pores in rock to allow oil to flow into well shafts. These devices are also used to cut large masses of steel plate and bars. The process through which a shaped charge works is as follows:

1. An explosion is generated which passes a detonation wave over the liner.