Measurement of the Chapman-Jouguet Pressure and Reaction Zone Length in a Detonating High Explosive

Abstract

The Chapman-Jouguet pressure and the reaction zone length in detonating Composition B containing 63 percent RDX at a density of 1.67 g/cc have been measured by determining the initial free surface velocity imparted to aluminum plates as a function of plate thickness. The C-J pressure is 0.272 megabar and the reaction zone length is 0.13 mm. The experimental free surface velocity-plate thickness curve provides powerful confirmation for the pressure profile in a detonating explosive predicted by the hydrodynamic theory of detonation proposed by Zeldovich, von Neumann, and Doring.