High-speed velocity measurements on an EFI-system

Abstract

For the development of an Exploding Foil Initiator for Insensitive Munitions applications the following topics are of interest: the electrical circuit, the exploding foil, the velocity of the flyer, the driver explosive, the secondary flyer and the acceptor explosive. Several parameters of the EFI have influences on the velocity of the flyer. To investigate these parameters a Fabry-Perot Velocity Interferometer System (F-PVIS) has been used. The light to and from the flyer is transported by a multimode fibre terminated with a GRIN-lens. By this method the velocity of very tiny objects (0.1 mm), can be measured. The velocity of flyer can be recorded with nanosecond resolution, depending on the Fabry-Perot etalon and the streak camera. With this equipment the influence of the dimensions of the exploding foil and the flyer on the velocity and the acceleration of the flyer are investigated. Also the integrity of the flyer during flight can be analyzed. To characterize the explosive material, to be used as driver explosive in EFI's, the initiation behaviour of the explosive has been investigated by taking pictures of the explosion with a high speed framing and streak camera. From these pictures the initiation distance and the detonation behaviour of the explosive has been analyzed. Normally, the driver explosive initiates the acceptor explosive (booster) by direct contact. This booster explosive is embedded in the main charge of the munitions. The combination of initiator, booster explosive and main charge explosive is called the detonation train. In this research the possibility of initiation of the booster by an intermediate flyer is investigated. This secondary flyer can be made of different materials, like aluminium, steel and polyester with different sizes. With the aid of the F-PVIS the acceleration of the secondary flyer is investigated. This reveals the influence of the thickness and density of the flyer on the acceleration and final velocity. Under certain circumstances the flyer breaks up in several parts and several velocities at the same time have been recorded. Several flyer materials and dimensions exist that are able to initiate very insensitive explosives like TATB.