Computational study of thrust generation from laser-driven blast wave

We have performed axisymmetric simulations in order to investigate the thrust generation resulting from the interference between the projectile and the blast wave produced by a pulsed laser. The results obtained by our numerical code well agree for the pressure history and the momentum coupling coefficient with the experimental data. In such analysis, it is found that the approximate impulse estimated only by the pressure history at the projectile base is difficult to predict the actual one. Since the shock wave rapidly attenuates in low fill pressure, and the interaction with the projectile almost finishes in the shroud, a high momentum coupling coefficient can be achieved unlike the case of high fill pressure in which the projectile experiences the subsequent negative thrust.