Mass Detonation Hazard Assessment from Violently Deflagrating Munitions

Abstract

We report on an investigation aimed at assessing whether the controlled, violent deflagration of Composition B loaded 105 mm shell can lead to the detonation of nearby rounds. Tests were grouped into 3 categories; single deflagrating donor - multiple acceptor arrays, projection of acceptor shell by a deflagrating donor and its impact on structural surfaces and multiple impacts causing transient interactions in acceptor shell. Trials were conducted with shell without boosters and fuzes, shell with boosters and plugs representing fuzes and recovered, damaged rounds. Acceptors were recovered intact but with flattened faces and cracked fillings with no signs of reaction. No detonations were recorded. Separate-experiments with single shell indicated that when low order reactions were deliberately stimulated in part of the filling then a deflagration to detonation transition could occur. Consequently our results do not support the processes occurring in the deflagrating donor/acceptor tests, as contributors to the mass detonation hazard of Composition B loaded 105 mm shell.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Aug 01, 1990
Accession Number
ADA520376

Entities

People

  • L. Mcvay
  • M. Chick
  • T. J. Bussell

Organizations

  • Defence Science and Technology Group

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Counter IED

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Ammunition
  • Concrete
  • Deflagration
  • Detonations
  • Diameters
  • Explosions
  • Explosive Charges
  • Explosives
  • Ground Zero
  • High Speed Photography
  • Insensitive Explosives
  • Materials
  • Munitions
  • Photography
  • Shaped Charge Jets
  • Shaped Charges
  • Time Intervals

Readers

  • Explosive Engineering.
  • Structural Dynamics.
  • Theoretical Analysis.