Revisiting the Kinematics of the Cylinder Test

Abstract

The cylinder expansion experiment is a well-established performance test for condensed explosives that is utilized routinely to determine pressure-energy-volume relationships for detonation products. The modern cylinder test employs optical interferometric techniques to measure velocity, as opposed to older realizations where streak cameras were commonplace. Despite their widespread use, questions sometimes remain as to what kind of data the velocity diagnostics in a cylinder test provide along with how to interpret such measurements and relate them to physical quantities of interest. In this study, equations are derived that fully describe the kinematics of the cylinder wall during expansion. These equations are then applied to experimental as well as synthetic data generated via a hydrodynamic simulation in order to verify the mathematical framework developed.