Experiment and numerical modeling of asymmetrically initiated hexagonal prism warhead

Traditional fragmentation warheads are usually initiated on the axis, producing a uniform fragment distribution around the warhead, but only little portion of them can be imposed on the targets. The aimable warhead, on the other hand, using the off-axis initiations or the structure deforming, can improve the warhead energy utilization highly. Seeking methods to both enhance the fragment velocity and density has significant value for improving the target damage probability. In this article, a warhead shaped as hexagonal prism was studied using arena experiment and numerical modeling and compared with the traditional cylindrical structure. The fragment velocities and target hit patterns of the two types of warheads under axial initiation and asymmetrical initiation are obtained. It is revealed that for the hexagonal prism warhead, the asymmetrical initiation can enhance the fragment velocities by 27.71% and enhance fragment density by 34.09% compared to the axial initiation. The fragment velocity enhancement is close to that of the cylindrical warhead, but the fragment density enhancement is far above the cylindrical warhead. This indicates that the asymmetrically initiated hexagonal prism warhead is a very effective aimable warhead.