Critical Pressure of Spherical Shell Acrylic Windows Under Short-Term Pressure Loading

Abstract

Model and full scale acrylic windows in the form of spherical shell lenses with parallel convex and concave surfaces have been imploded by loading their convex surface hydro-statically at 650 psi/min rate while their concave surface was exposed to atmospheric pressure. The thickness of the model scale windows varied from 0.250 to 1.200 in. and of the full scale windows from 0.564 to 4.000 in., while the included spherical sector angle of the lens varied from 30 to 180 degrees in thirty degree increments. The low pressure face diameters of the model scale windows varied from 1.423 to 5.500 in., while those of the full scale windows varied from 6.200 to 35.868 in. In addition to critical pressures, displacement of the lens under hydrostatic pressure has been recorded and plotted as functions of pressure. The critical pressures of spherical acrylic windows have been found to be consistently higher than those of conical or flat disc acrylic windows of same thickness and low pressure face diameter subjected to short-term hydrostatic loading.