Third International Conference on Computational Ballistics

6 - 8 June 2007
The New Forest, UK

 Overview

The third International Conference on Computational Ballistics took place recently at the New Forest Campus of the Wessex Institute of Technology (WIT). The Meeting provided a forum for the presentation of new ideas and advanced developments in this field of study. Computational Ballistics, in spite of its specific objectives, has a wide range of applications and, as a science, relates to a great variety of phenomena which occur from the moment an object or projectile is fired until its effects are observed in a target.  

Ballistic studies include applications as varied as the study of the structural and control behaviour of rockets and communication satellites; bird strike effects on commercial aircraft, terrorist attacks and crackworthiness modelling. Many of the basic problems of ballistics are similar to those in other fields of applications, such as combustion, heat conduction, in-flight structural behaviour, trajectory related issues, contact, impact, penetration, structural response to shock waves and many others.

 Opening Address

The Conference was opened by Professor Carlos A Brebbia, Director of WIT and Co-Chairman of the Meeting who expressed its importance in terms of the programmes organised by this Institute.

 Conference Topics

The contributions were grouped under the following topics:  

• Fluid flow aerodynamics
• Interior ballistics
• Terminal ballistics
• Experimental mechanics of ballistics and field testing
• New developments in computational techniques
• Systems and technology

 Invited Presentations

A series of invited presentations helped to enhance the meeting:  

• “Suppression of axial combustion instability in solid rocket motors”, by D R Greatrix, Ryerson University, Canada
• “ICE-ALE modelling for the combustion of homogeneous solid propellant”, by A Peratta, Wessex Institute of Technology, UK
• “Unsteady computational fluid dynamics modelling of free-flight projectile aerodynamics”, by J Sahu, US Army Research Laboratory, USA
• “Offshore platforms survivability to underwater explosions: part I”, by A A Motta, Brazilian Navy Research Institute, Rio de Janeiro

 Technical Visit to Royal Military College

A highlight of the Conference was a technical visit to the Royal Military College at Shrivenham.  The delegates were met by Professor Clare Knock who gave them an introductory talk.  This was followed by two further presentations on Gas Guns by Dr Paul Hazell and on Terminal Ballistics Experimental Work at the Bashforth Laboratories run by Professor Ian Horsfall.  The visit ended with a tour of the Gun Shed and Ammunitions Laboratory and the new Defence Capability Centre where the delegates were guided by Commander Gareth John.

 Conference Dinner

The delegates had ample opportunity to establish personal contacts during the breaks and social functions.  A welcome reception was arranged at the end of the first day and the delegates were all invited to the Conference Banquet, which took place in one of the historical houses of the New Forest.  It is called the New Park and it was built at the time of Charles II as his private residence when he visited the Forest.  Part of the house is still from that period, with new additions that have made it into one of the most comfortable hotels in the region.  Professor Brebbia explained the history of the house which can be read in his book “The New Forest.  A personal view” (WIT Press, Southampton and Boston 2006) and after thanking the participants for coming to the Conference and banquet, offered each of them a copy of his latest book on “ Patagonia.  A forgotten land” (WIT Press, Southampton and Boston, 2007).  This was followed by a parting souvenir of a piece of pottery, specially commissioned for the 2007 WIT Conference series.  It was made by a local potter following traditional methods and fired in a wood kiln. 

 Close of Conference

The Conference closed with a general discussion regarding the whole field of Computational Ballistics.  Dr Peratta pointed out the importance of further development of numerical methods although, in many cases, analytical approaches are sufficient.  Numerical Methods, Professor Roetzel pointed out, need a considerable amount of experimental data to work properly.  Professor Greatrix pointed out that the papers presented at this Conference were of high calibre but that more work is required on interior ballistics.  

 Publication of Papers

The Proceedings of Computational Ballistics III, 256pp (ISBN: 1-84564-077-4) are available in hard back from WIT Press priced at £85/US$165/€127.50. Orders can be placed by telephone: +44 (0) 238 029 3223, fax: +44 (0) 238 029 2853, e-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or via the WIT Press web site at www.witpress.com.  

Papers from the conference will also be hosted online at the WIT eLibrary as Volume 45 of WIT Transactions on Modelling and Simulation (ISSN: 1743-355X). For more details visit the WITeLibrary at www.witpress.com.  

Patagonia a forgotten land – from Magellan to Peron, by C.A. Brebbia, 384 pp (ISBN 978-1-84564-061-3) is available in hard back from WIT Press, priced at £33/US$59/€49.50.  Orders can be placed as above.