Reaction zone measurements in detonating aluminized explosives

Abstract

Detonation reaction zone measurements have been made on five RDX-based explosives (60 μm average particle size RDX), containing 6% polymer binder and from 0 to 19% aluminum of different particle size (from 2 μm to 20 μm). A photoelectric technique was employed to record the radiation intensity history of the shock front propagating through chloroform in contact with the charge face. The record was then translated into the explosive/chloroform interface velocity history. In all cases, the Zeldovich-von Neumann-Doering detonation wave structure was observed. Aluminum particle size was found to have no appreciable effect on the reaction zone length, which increases from 0.34 mm to 0.58 mm as aluminum content increases from 0 to 19%. Nevertheless, the reaction zone lengths of the studied explosives are less than that of RDX/TNT 50/50 (0.59 mm), which implies relatively high rate of the reaction between aluminum and RDX detonation products.