Evaluation of Underwater Explosive Performance of PBXW-115 (AUST).

Abstract

An investigation has been carried out on the underwater explosive performance properties of Australian-made PBXW-115, a polymer bonded explosive (PBX) made from AP / bimodal RDX / Al in a plasticised polyurethane binder. The following underwater performance parameters of 25 kg PBX-115 charges, detonated by a central core of pentolite, have been measured: peak pressure, time constant, shock impulse, energy flux density, shock wave energy, relative bubble energy and the similitude constants have been evaluated. The shock wave energy (Esw) of PBXW-115 (Aust) is 1.85 and its bubble energy (ERB) is 2.25, relative to the accepted standard, pentolite (values 1.00), for each parameter); these values compare to those from Composition H-6 (Esw 1.18, ERB 1.54) probably the most commonly used and best known underwater explosive amongst the current inventories of the navies of the world. These data suggest that PBXW-115 should be a superior fill for use in underwater blast weapons.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Feb 01, 1996
Accession Number
ADA315885

Entities

People

  • G. Bocksteiner

Organizations

  • Defence Science and Technology Group

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Energy
  • Explosives
  • Flux Density
  • Pentolite
  • Plastic Bonded Explosives
  • Shock
  • Shock Waves
  • Wave Power
  • Waves

Readers

  • Combustion Dynamics and Shock Wave Physics.
  • Rocket Propulsion.