Rapid penetration of torpedoes into the sea floor encompasses a host of complex phenomena. Determining the kinematics of soil-torpedo interactions, needed for development and validation of state-of-the-art numerical simulations, remains one of the major challenges in design and analysis of torpedo anchors. In this study, results of rapid penetration tests in reduced scale physical models of synthetic soils are presented. The granular media consists of saturated refractive-index-matched transparent quartz particles. High-speed imaging is used to capture images during the penetration event. Digital image correlation is then performed to investigate soil-torpedo interactions. Results of the analyses provide high fidelity data with regards to kinematics of soil-torpedo interaction at various stages of penetration. These data reveal a deviation of the soil response ahead of the torpedo from both cylindrical and spherical cavity expansion.
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