When assessing a high explosive, most blast calculations requirethe mass as an equivalent charge of TNT, since TNT is used bymany algorithms as the baseline. This equivalency is expected togive the same performance as the charge in question. Accurateequivalences are therefore key in determining performance.Unfortunately, there are no definitive methods or documents.Variability is found to be so significant that errors can be up to50%, with 20% to 30% being typical. Three standard explosives(RDX, HMX and Comp B) were assessed in detail and their TNTequivalence calculated. Standard scaling theory indicates thatTNT equivalence should be constant, this is shown as incorrect.UFC manuals recommend only the use of Heats of Detonation forequivalence, this and other functions such as Power Index andHydrodynamic Work are assessed. This paper looks at the issuesand recommends that Power Index is used to calculate the TNTequivalence for blast.
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