AN EXPLOSIVE-OPERATED VALVE

Abstract

The object of this investigation was to develop a method for rapidly stopping the flow of gas through a tube and permanently sealing the tube against further leakage. A valve has been developed which will close an aluminum tube (0.5 in. OD by 0.065 in. wall) in approximately 25 microseconds, giving a hermetic seal thereof. The closure is obtaine by radially collapsing the tube wall under an explosive load. The rapidly moving walls meet and join to form a bond similar to a weld. Provisions are made to muffle and/or direct the blast so that two or more valves can be operated within inches of each other. Eight of these valves were used successfully as part of an experiment in conjunction with Project Gnome, an underground atomic explosion, at Carlsbad, N. M., on 10 December 1961. (Author)

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Aug 01, 1962
Accession Number
AD0291578

Entities

People

  • Warren E. Fogg

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Aluminum
  • Explosions
  • Explosives
  • Hermetic Seals
  • Microsecond Time
  • Nuclear Explosions

Readers

  • Electrical Engineering
  • Explosive Engineering.