Some progress in the study of the water entry phenomenon

 This paper reports on progress in the study of the water entry phenomenon. First, an experiment conducted measuring the velocity of the projectile after water entry. An empirical formula was obtained describing the change of the velocity of an underwater projectile with water depth. From the formula, the velocity decay coefficient β=0.5ρ_w A _o C _d/m, was determined, where ρ_w is the water density, A _o is the projection area of the projectile, C _d is the drag coefficient and m is the mass of the projectile. A theoretical model was then presented to describe the motion of the projectile during entry. Based on the obtained value of β, when the projectile was treated equivalently as a sphere, the theoretical water depth for deep closure of the cavity was predicted. Received: 10 February 2000/Accepted: 20 July 2000