Shock Compression Microscopy for Tabletop Detonations in PETN-based Explosives
ORAL
Abstract
We have developed a microscope system for performing shock compression experiments with km s-1 impactors and nanosecond-duration shock waves. In the present work, this system is used to study polymer-bound explosive charges (PBXs) 1 mm in diameter and tens to hundreds of microns thick. The microscope diagnostics include particle velocity (Photon Doppler velocimetry) measurements, fast imaging, and optical pyrometry. The PBX under study is a pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN)-based PBX (80% PETN, 20% elastomer binder) and has been characterized using x-ray tomography and scanning electron microscopy. At lower shock-pressures we observed sub-detonative behavior and hot spots have structures which evolved over 20 ns and cooled relatively slowly. At higher shock-pressures, the shock wave was supported by fast chemical reactions and the particle velocity remained constant. In this regime the shock wave is detonation-like and the hot spot cooling rate increased dramatically.
*This work was supported by the US Army Research Office under award W911NF-13-1-0217, the US Air Force Office of Scientific Research under award FA9550-16-1-0042. This work performed under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Energy by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory under Contract DE-AC52-07NA27344.
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Presenters
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Will Bassett
- Lawrence Livermore Natl Lab