Shock initiation of explosives: Temperature spikes and growth spurts

Abstract

When energetic materials are subjected to high-velocity impacts, the first steps in the shock-to-detonation transition are the creation, ignition, and growth of hot spots. We used 1–3.2 km s−1 laser-launched flyer plates to impact powdered octahydro-1,3,5,7-tetranitro-1,3,5,7-tetrazocine, a powerful explosive, and monitored hundreds of emission bursts with an apparatus that determined temperature and emissivity at all times. The time-dependent volume fraction of hot spots was determined by measuring the time-dependent emissivity. After the shock, most hot spots extinguished, but the survivors smoldered for hundreds of nanoseconds until their temperatures spiked, causing a hot spot growth spurt. Depending on the impact duration, the growth spurts could be as fast as 300 ns and as slow as 13 μs.

Document Details

Document Type
Pub Defense Publication
Publication Date
Aug 29, 2016
Source ID
10.1063/1.4961619

Entities

People

  • Dana D. Dlott
  • Will P. Bassett

Organizations

  • Air Force Office of Scientific Research
  • Army Research Office
  • Carnegie Institution for Science
  • Defense Threat Reduction Agency
  • University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign

Tags

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Combustion Dynamics and Shock Wave Physics.
  • Pulsed Power and Plasma Physics.
  • Thermal Physics or Thermal Science.

Technology Areas

  • Directed Energy