Evaluation of Alternate High-Explosive Simulation Technique Explosives.

摘要

An experimental evaluation of three explosives was undertaken to determine their suitability as a driver for High-Explosive Simulation Technique (HEST). The motivation for this study was an attempt to establish a more cost-effective method of simulating the effect of an airblast caused by a nuclear detonation. In line with this, the criteria used for the evaluation were changes in physical characteristics during storage, detonation velocity, detonation transfer, initiation requirements, overpressures, and installed cost as compared to the presently used detonating cord. The testing conducted in this effort yielded the conclusion that two of the explosives were unsuitable for use on HEST. However, ammonium nitrate/fuel oil (ANFO), because of its extremely low cost and somewhat favorable characteristics, merits further investigation.