Characterizing the Detonation and Blast Wave Characteristics from Commercial Detonating Cord

摘要

Detonating cord essentially consists of a flexible hollow tube filled with a core of high explosives, typicallyPETN or RDX, with small failure diameters and known detonation velocities. It is used in civilian andmilitary applications as a detonating agent, a priming agent, and an explosive charge. There is a vastamount of detonating cord types commercially available with different core loads and jacketing materials.Although the energetic materials contained in conventional detonating cord are well characterized, theinteraction between the explosive, plastic case (e.g., polypropylene, polyethylene), and textile outerjacket (e.g., polyester) has not receive much attention in the literature.Upon detonation, the oxygen‐poor explosive products heat the inert case and jacket materials. Theexpansion is Rayleigh‐Taylor unstable enhancing mixing and burning of the products with the surroundingavailable oxygen in the air. This afterburning can potentially add energy in the tail of the blast wave andmodify the expected blast impulse. The goal of this research is to characterize the detonation and airborneshock profile from different types of commercial detonation cord using high‐speed imaging techniquesand piezoelectric sensors. These studies will advance the current understanding of the energy output andblast wave characteristics assisting in the design of explosives charges using detonating cord.