Use of a High-Energy and Low-Pressure Energetic Source for Mine and Obstacle Clearing

摘要

Past numerical and experimental work suggest that energetic charges that produce a low-level long duration pressure pulse would enhance the damage to certain types of underwater structures, generate larger craters, generate larger volume bubbles, and generate larger water plumes than conventional high pressure explosives. SRI International has conceived a novel high-energy low- pressure (HELP) energetic source that has the potential to compliment the existing conventional and advanced high pressure energetic charges used by the Navy. The HELP charge is not viewed as an explosive that will generally outperform other explosives, but rather an explosive for neutralizing targets that are particularly sensitive to low pressure long duration loads.