Cost-effective simulation and prediction of explosions for military and public safety, and for improved oil extraction

An MoD-funded research programme based in Applied Mathematics at Leeds University has resulted in demonstrable long-term and ongoing benefits on diverse fronts for beneficiaries in a range of public and private sectors. First, by guaranteeing robustness and reliability of bespoke numerical methods for the MoD, the joint research led to substantial financial savings in ballistic-development programmes, thereby enabling the delivery of advanced research output cost-effectively under severe budgetary pressures. As a result, QinetiQ was placed as a world leader in the simulation of explosions, which supported the MoD to rapidly assess and develop countermeasures to the ever-changing threats faced by British Forces in Afghanistan and Iraq, and to reduce casualties. It also enabled government agencies to assess threats to transport and public-building infrastructure. Second, the joint research underpinned substantial recurrent income for QinetiQ, who has additionally developed the codes with the oil industry to develop a new explosive perforator for oil extraction that has not only led to demonstrable improvements in both extraction efficiency and research-and-development costs, but has also yielded recurrent licensing royalties

The use of PDV to understand damage in rocket motor propellants

Photonic Doppler Velocimetry (PDV) has been fielded on small scale fragment impact experiments on double base propellant. A 130 mm block of propellant was impacted with a 20 mm diameter cylinder at 1003 ± 10 m s-1 and four PDV probes recorded rear surface motion at different radial distances between 10 mm and 60 mm from impact centre. The PDV was fielded alongside high speed video diagnostics using a dichroic mirror which reflected visible light whilst transmitting the 1550 nm wavelength which the PDV operated at. The rear surface velocity was compared to 2D numerical simulations of the experiment and found to be in good agreement. Additional material moving at up to 2 km s-1 was detected at break out