Study of Coupling Electrical Energy to Detonation Reaction Zone of Primasheet-1000

摘要

It is anticipated that the introduction of high currents will increase the energy content of the combustion gases in the vicinity of the detonation front through ohmic heating. This increased energy should then lead to either an increase in the detonation velocity or an alteration of a critical thickness of an explosive. The approach is to transfer the stored electrical energy from a 160-kJ (5.5-kV) capacitor bank into the conductive zone behind the detonation front of an explosive reaction. The power supply employs a 6.5-kV, 0.010-F, 200-kJ capacitor bank. The explosive portion of the experimental apparatus consists of two copper plates (2.54 cm wide × 50 cm long × 1.27 cm thick) separated by a varied thickness layer of Primasheet-1000 explosive. Upon initiation of the Primasheet-1000 sheets, an explosive switch allows the energy stored in the pulsed power assembly to be transferred through the copper plates and into the conducting reaction zone of the detonation front. Advanced diagnostics are used to image the advancing detonation front and to measure detonation velocity. Initial results show that there was a difference of ~4.2% in the detonation velocity observed in 0.1-cm-thick layers and ~2.6% in 0.2-cm-thick layers of Primasheet-1000 while inputting the electric energy into the reaction zone. No detonation velocity enhancement was observed in 0.3-cm-thick layers of Primasheet-1000 explosive. The accuracy limits in our measurements suggest but do not prove that electrical energy caused the detonation velocity enhancement. On- going efforts are to observe the effects of electrical energy to the alteration of critical thickness of TNT sheets.