The decomposition of some RDX and HMX based materials in the one dimensional time to explosion apparatus. Part 2. Estimating the violence of the cook-off event

Williams, M. R. and Ghosh, M. V. (2007) The decomposition of some RDX and HMX based materials in the one dimensional time to explosion apparatus. Part 2. Estimating the violence of the cook-off event. Propellants, Explosives, Pyrotechnics, 32 (1). pp. 7-15. ISSN 0721-3115 doi: 10.1002/prep.200700001

Abstract/Summary

Various methods of assessment have been applied to the One Dimensional Time to Explosion (ODTX) apparatus and experiments with the aim of allowing an estimate of the comparative violence of the explosion event to be made. Non-mechanical methods used were a simple visual inspection, measuring the increase in the void volume of the anvils following an explosion and measuring the velocity of the sound produced by the explosion over 1 metre. Mechanical methods used included monitoring piezo-electric devices inserted in the frame of the machine and measuring the rotational velocity of a rotating bar placed on the top of the anvils after it had been displaced by the shock wave. This last method, which resembles original Hopkinson Bar experiments, seemed the easiest to apply and analyse, giving relative rankings of violence and the possibility of the calculation of a “detonation” pressure.