INVESTIGATION OF LOW-VELOCITY DETONATION PHENOMENA IN LIQUID PROPELLANTS, FUELS AND EXPLOSIVES.

Abstract

A reevaluation is made of existing low-velocity detonation (LVD) data to identify individual mechanisms contributing to LVD initiation and propagation in energetic liquid explosives. LVD is observed only in confined explosives. Container walls induce cavitation in the liquid ahead of a shock which compresses the cavities to produce hot spot ignition of the material. The wall interaction is investigated theoretically to show that precursor pressure waves of sufficient strength to cause cavitation are present. Properties of systems that influence LVD are examined and compared to observed phenomena. Experiments to examine the effects of confinement are described. Wall thickness is varied, keeping all other parameters constant. The results indicate that for a given system there is probably a single critical wall thickness that will support stable LVD.

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Mar 30, 1970
Accession Number
AD0706921

Entities

People

  • D. C. Wooten
  • H. R. Bredfeldt
  • R. J. Kier
  • R. W. Woolfolk

Organizations

  • SRI International

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Counter IED

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Cavitation
  • Containers
  • Detonations
  • Energetic Materials
  • Explosions
  • Explosives
  • Hot Spots
  • Ignition
  • Liquid Explosives
  • Liquid Propellants
  • Materials
  • Propellants
  • Thickness

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Combustion Dynamics and Shock Wave Physics.
  • Combustion and Flow Dynamics.
  • Systems Analysis and Design