Final Report on Anomalous Energy Transfer From a Detonation.
Abstract
Early work (1974) by the Navy, which involved studies of the front portion of the detonation products from overdriven explosive cylinders of PETN, suggested two anomalous mechanisms of energy transfer in the forward direction. These included a "prompt" (optical) mechanism and a "detached plasma" mechanism. An independent study in 1983 by the present author indicated that the prompt mechanism could not be confirmed from the existing Navy data; neither could the single Navy experiment, which displayed the detached plasma phenomenon, be repeated. However, persistent "hot" (bright) plasma regions, located at the front end of the detonation products, were shown to be present m virtually all cases. This present follow-on study, which was carried out in 1985 with the experimental assistance of Mr. George Hauver of the U.S. Army Ballistic Research Laboratory (BRL), clearly showed that the prompt (optical) energy-transport mechanism was not present However, time-resolved optical measurements of material removal from a thin, aluminum foil target on a transparent plastic substrate, located at a long distance forward of the charge, yielded extremely high, mass-removal rates and very high, deduced- energy-deposition rates, very early in the interaction between the hot front end of the detonation products and the aluminum target foil. More work remains to be done to explain these residual phenomena.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 01, 1998
- Accession Number
- ADA345311
Entities
People
- Louis Zernow