Physics-Based Statistical Methods

Abstract

Mott reached closure in his exploration of geometric fragmentation statistics early in his third internal report. In the remainder of this report he undertook a seminal investigation of the fragmentation of exploding shells, and developed a statistical theory of dynamic fragmentation elegant in its formulation and insightful in the physics explored. His theoretical effort has been noted in numerous subsequent studies in dynamic fragmentation but has received little in-depth study. Consequently, the fragmentation theory of Mott now over 60 years in the literature has been neither validated nor refuted. Efforts in the present section attempt to assess and broaden the physical principles of dynamic fragmentation first proposed by Mott. The efforts go beyond the initial analysis of Mott, however, both in the range of fracture processes, as well as in the analytic development.