Ultra-high-speed framing camera for shock and detonation studies
Abstract
High-speed imaging is a cornerstone of energetic materials research studies, allowing the visualization of detonation and shock wave propagation processes, extraction of quantitative data, and an increased understanding of phenomena through imagery. The New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology (New Mexico Tech, NMT) proposes to purchase a premier ultra-high-speed digital imaging system incorporating a framing camera and a streak camera to image detonation and shock wave processes to augment currently funded Department of Defense (DoD) research programs and enhance educating students in the field of explosives engineering. The proposed camera system incorporates a SIMD framing camera and an SC10 streak camera which are optically aligned to allow simultaneous recording of individual frames and a streak image. The SIMD framing camera records 28 individual frames at up to 1 billion frames per second (fps), each with 1360 by 1040 pixels resolution. Each frame is captured on one of 14 individual intensified charge-coupled devices (ICCDs) which are independently triggered. Each ICCD records 2 images, with a minimum exposure of 3 nanoseconds (ns) and a minimum 550 ns time separation between frames. This allows continuous recording at approximately 25 million fps, or two bursts of recording 14 frames at 1 billion fps, with a 550 ns time separation. The SC10 streak camera has a temporal scan rate that is variable from 25 ps to 100s of microseconds (µs), with a total 400 temporal lines able to be captured with approximately 320 individual spatial elements. The spatial and temporal resolutions of this camera system are significantly better than current technology available to researchers at NMT and will enhance current research that is studying shock wave propagation in air and optically clear solids, detonation events, and shock to detonation transition in energetic materials. The proposed camera system will directly impact several ongoing DoD research programs sponsored by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR), Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA), and Army Research Laboratory (ARL). AFOSR grant FA9550-19-1-0379 through the Dynamic Materials and Interactions Program managed by Dr. Martin Schmidt will be particularly impacted by this new camera system through the enhanced ability to quantitatively measure shock wave and detonation propagations through complex geometries. The research is developing quantitative measurements of shock wave velocities, density fields, and material stress states that form as a shock wave interacts with arrays of metal inclusions of various geometries and structures. The camera system will be used to perform quantitative imaging in polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) and nitromethane experiments. The nitromethane experiments will explore not only the shock propagation, but the progression to detonation, and the high-resolution camera images will be used to identify and quantify detonation initiation sites. The camera system will ultimately increase the quantitative experimental data resolution in temporal and spatial dimensions which will result in the development of high-quality validation data for computational simulations and an improved understanding of shock to detonation processes in complex environments. The camera system will primarily be used by graduate and undergraduate students studying toward degrees in Mechanical Engineering, with specializations in Explosives Engineering, at NMT. These students will learn to implement the camera in their research and will obtain improved experimental data through the expanded capabilities the camera system offers. The camera will also be incorporated into a laboratory experiment to visualize the early-time detonation of RP-2 detonators in the undergraduate ÒBeginning Explosives Engineering LaboratoryÓ (EXPL101L) class that is taught at the freshman level every spring semester at NMT.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Jun 25, 2021
- Source ID
- W911NF2110214
Entities
People
- Michael Hargather
Organizations
- Army Contracting Command
- New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology
- Office of the Secretary of Defense