CHARACTERIZATION FOR INDUSTRIAL USE OF A MULTIPHASE BLAST EXPLOSIVE WITH REDUCED COLLATERAL DAMAGE EFFECTS

摘要

Herakles (Safran Group) has been developing new kinds of high explosives for several years in its Le Bouchet Research Centre (France). Nowadays, Multiphase Blast explosives (MBX) are investigated to develop new explosive compositions with specific effects. Recent works have shown that the use of dense inert particles incorporated in explosive formulations could lead to a much better control of the lethal area around the target. Indeed, Dense Inert Metal Explosives (DIME) produces an increased impulse effect (blast + particles) in near field, whereas these effects are dramatically decreased in far field. Fully integrated to these projects, specific experimental means are developed to characterize these new kinds of explosives, as well as new models which are specially designed to take into account the specific aspects of the behavior of multiphase detonation products. As a consequence, a whole new methodology combining experiments and calculations is being created to better characterize and predict the effects delivered by this new family of high explosives. This article only deals with the experimental part of this study. In the first part, we will focus on two new experimental means currently developed in Le Bouchet Research Centre for MBX characterization. The DISTRAP system (in French: "Dispositif Tournant Recuperateur A Particules") is a rotating system enable to capture dense particles all along the test. After that recovering step, analysis of these particles is performed. The CITIF system (in French: "Cible a Impulsion Totale Instrumentee en Force") is a fixed momentum trap in which the efforts on the target can be measured by a force gauge which integrates both effects of blast and particles. The second part of the presentation will exhibit the performance test campaign performed on MBX and how blast and particles effects are measured on a representative configuration. Through that way, tests performed in free-field or in detonation chamber will be presented, so as the associated instrumentation composed of pressure gauges and momentum traps. Results will be presented and discussed.