A Microwave Technique for Studying Detonation Phenomena
Abstract
A microwave technique was developed for studying shock phenomena in condensed phases. The microwave energy reflected by the shock front was used to determine velocities of both reactive (detonation) and non-reactive shocks. This technique used standard microwave components and an expendable, dielectric rod waveguide as a transmission line to the sample under study. The oscillogram of the output of a crystal detector is a continuous displacement-time trace of the shock front as it moves through the sample. The trace can be interpreted in terms of microwave interferometry, in that the detected signal goes through a maximum and a minimum for each displacement of the shock front by a half wavelength, or as the Doppler shift in frequency produced by the velocity of the approaching shock front. This technique has been applied to the problem of determining the growth to detonation near the 50% card gap value of 1-inch diameter charges of Composition C-4 explosive and of 2-inch diameter charges of NH4ClO4 confined in glass. Simultaneous microwave and streak-camera measurements of the detonation of 2-inch diameter charges of pentolite were made.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 13, 1965
- Accession Number
- AD0469632
Entities
People
- Edgar G. Johnson