Monitoring blast wave evolution and propagation using coupled visual recording and pressure measurements

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Chemical Engineering
• Physics

Background:

• Explosives are critical materials in mining, civil engineering, and military applications.
• Recent geopolitical events have increased interest in understanding explosive properties and effects.
• Assessing explosive performance is vital for safety and efficacy.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze and characterize blast waves generated by Ammonal and Heksoflen explosives.
• To compare the pressure distribution and detonation characteristics of the two explosives.
• To predict overpressure at various distances based on determined explosive constants.

Main Methods:

• Detonation velocity was measured using four internal probes.
• Blast wave pressure distribution was recorded by three external pressure probes at varying distances.
• High-speed Phantom v9.1 camera captured detonation events.
• Explosive constants were derived from pressure data for overpressure prediction.

Main Results:

• Blast wave pressure is highly dependent on the type of explosive used.
• Heksoflen produced a blast wave with higher maximum pressure and impulse compared to Ammonal.
• The afterburning of intermediate detonation products differed significantly between Heksoflen and Ammonal.

Conclusions:

• Heksoflen exhibits more potent blast wave characteristics than Ammonal.
• The study provides valuable data for predicting explosive effects and selecting appropriate materials.
• Differences in detonation product afterburning significantly influence blast wave properties.