Effect of the degree of dispersion on the detonation wave structure in pressed TNETB

Abstract

A VISAR interferometer was used to study the reaction zone in steady-state detonation waves in pressed TNETB at different initial densities (1.23–1.71 g/cm3) and degrees of dispersion (5 and 80 µm) of the initial powdered high explosive (HE). The initial density range in which a pressure rise was observed instead of the theoretically predicted chemical spike is shown to depend on the degree of dispersion of the HE. The unusual change in the parameters in the reaction zone is explained by the heterogeneous structure of pressed HEs, whose decomposition has a local nature and proceeds partially at the compression wave front. A technique for recording wave profiles using LiF windows was developed, which confirmed that all qualitative features observed when using aluminum foils ≈200 µm thick and a water window reliably reflect the detonation wave structure.