GROWTH OF BURNING TO DETONATION IN LIQUIDS AND SOLIDS
Abstract
The initiation and propagation of explosion in liquids and solids has been studied with special reference to the role played by discontinuities in promoting sensitivity and the deflagration detonation transition. The growth of fast reaction in single crystals of lead and silver azide has been investigated using high speed photography. It was found that sufficiently thin crystals of these explosives burn and the dependence of deflagration velocity on crystal dimension was determined. Fracture and break-up of the crystals can occur ahead of the reaction front; in some situations these processes can stop the growth of reaction in lead azide. The effect of collapsing a bubble by a weak shock ( about 1 kbar) in the neighbourhood of the azides has been studied. Adiabatic heating of the gases in the bubble was identified as the major factor in causing initiation. Experiments on lead azide have shown that its explosion temperature depends on crystal size. The amounts and kinetics of the decomposition have been recorded for various crystal types, and temperatures associated with the fracture process evaluated. In liquid explosives the role of cavities on the transition to, and propagation of, a low velocity detonation has been studied for various liquids in both thin film and three-dimensional confinement.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Dec 01, 1969
- Accession Number
- AD0703744
Entities
People
- D. Tabor
- John Edwin Field
- M. M. Chaudhri
- P. G. Fox
Organizations
- University of Cambridge