ON THE ORIGIN OF SHOCKWAVES FROM SPHERICAL CONDENSED EXPLOSIONS IN AIR - PART 1. RESULTS OF PHOTOGRAPHIC OBSERVATIONS OF PENTOLITE HEMISPHERES AT AMBIENT CONDITIONS

Abstract

The phenomena occurring during the explosion of pentolite hemispheres are observed using the Beckman-Whitley camera operated at 0.5-microsecond intervals. Because of the hemispherical shape, the detonation wave may be followed through the explosive and the resulting airshock followed through the air (for two charge radii). The observations indicate that the airshock formed outside the explosive results from the transmission of the detonation shockfront into the air. The airshock velocity appears to remain constant, at the detonation-velocity value of 7730 m/sec, for several microseconds before decaying in the usual airshock fashion. Comparisons of the hemispherical results are also made with previously unpublished spherical results from Naval Ordnance Laboratory (NOL) experiments and from earlier measurements. There are several discrepancies among these three sets of data revealed by the comparison but not resolved.

Open PDF

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Aug 01, 1963
Accession Number
AD0414637

Entities

People

  • L. Rudlin

Organizations

  • Naval Ordnance Laboratory

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Counter IED
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Cameras
  • Chemical Reactions
  • Detonations
  • Experimental Data
  • Explosions
  • Explosives
  • Gases
  • Materials
  • Measurement
  • Military Research
  • Munitions
  • Nuclear Weapons
  • Ordnance Laboratories
  • Plastic Explosives
  • War Colleges
  • Weapons

Readers

  • Combustion Dynamics and Shock Wave Physics.
  • Fluid Dynamics.