Detonation in mixtures of nitromethane with methanol as an inert (nonexplosive) diluent is studied. Ignition experiments with mixtures in steel tubes of various diameters provided information on the effect of the degree of dilution on detonability.Mass velocity profiles with a chemical spike characteristic of detonation waves were recorded at the unsteady detonation front in all mixtures studied. This made it possible to distinguish the Chapman-Jouguet state and obtain a fairly complete set of detonation parameters. The dependence of the pressure in the detonation products on the methanol concentration is determined, which is required, in particular, to find the true (absolute) limit of detonation propagation for the concentration of diluted liquid explosives using the method proposed and validated by A. N. Dremin. Some results were found to be inconsistent with one-dimensional detonation theory.
A VISAR laser interferometer was used to measure mass velocity profiles in steadystate detonation waves in tetranitromethane and its mixtures with methanol. In the experiments with tetranitromethane, the chemical-spike pressure was found to be 1.7 times higher than the Chapman-Jouguet pressure. In mixtures with nearly stoichiometric methanol concentrations, the detonation front remained stable, but the chemical-spike amplitude increased suddenly and the shock broadened, probably due to the decomposition of the explosive at the front. A 50% increase in methanol concentration led to instability of the detonation front manifested in oscillations in the mass velocity profiles.
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