Stress waves propagation in solids under high-speed liquid impact

An experiment of impact between 450 m/s water jets and polymethylme-thacrylate (PMMA) materials with complex surface geometry was conducted. The testing surfaces were a corner, step change, surface-breaking notch, inclined surface, etc. Stress waves propagation in the solid such as reflection, interference and diffraction was observed using polarized optics and an Imacon high speed camera (operating at both of 10⁶ and 5×10⁵ framing rates per second, fps). A damage test by the impact of the side jetting of an 850 m/s water jet was also carried out. It was found that stress waves propagation in solids depends not only on the surface geometry but also on the contact situation between liquid and solid. It was shown that the side jetting has sufficient damage potential although its head may consist of finer droplets. The results of this paper are useful to further analyze the dynamic stress state of solids under high-speed liquid impact.