Detonation wave profiles in HMX based explosives

Abstract

LA-UR-97--2 9 9 2 Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87545 Detonation wave profiles have been measured in several HMX based plastic bonded explosives including PBX9404, PBX9501, and EDC-37, as well as two HMX powders (coarse and fine) pressed to 65% of crystal density. The powders had 120 and 10 pm average grain sizes, respectively. Planar detonations were produced by impacting the explosive with projectiles launched in a 72-mm bore gas gun. Impactors, impact velocity, and explosive thickness were chosen so that the run distance to detonation was always less than half the explosive thickness. For the high density plastic bonded explosives, particle velocity wave profiles were measured at an explosive/window interface using two VISAR interferometers. PMMA windows with vapor deposited aluminum mirrors were used for all experiments. Wave profiles for the powdered explosives were measured using magnetic particle velocity gauges. Estimates of the reaction zone parameters were obtained from the profiles using Hugoniots of the explosive and window.

Microscopic Imaging and Optical Pressure Measurements of Detonations

“…This zone does not appear to have any significant substructure, variation in brightness, or show any signs of reaction progress across but it had distinct bounda-ries. The reported RZ values for PBX 9501 is 130-170 μm measured using velocity interferometry system for any reflector (VISAR) [32]. It is computationally predicted that the RZ thickness would be larger at a weak confiner interface compared to the center of the HE [6,10].…”

Development of magnetic gauges for the measurement of particle velocities during one-dimensional shock loading

“…Subsequently, particle velocity gauges have been used in a large number of energetic materials, mostly by Sheffield, Gustavsen, Alcon and their co-workers [17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26] and others from LANL [27]. Their use in non-energetic materials has not been so extensive, but some work has been performed on polymers [28], geological materials [29] and ice [30].…”