Characterization of the Blast Wave Generated by Various Explosives

Explosives are a group of special purpose materials, which are widely used in various branches of industry. Interest in this type of materials has increased recently, especially due to the current geopolitical situation. Explosives can also be used to construct so-called improvised explosive devices which are often used against military staff, as well as against citizens or critical infrastructure. Due to the high demand for this type of materials their market grows year by year. A large group of researchers studies the effects of blast wave interaction on physical objects, what allows to define the threat related to the detonation of various explosives. In the paper, a characterization of the blast wave generated by two different explosives with cylindrical shape is presented. The overpressure distribution of the blast wave was measured with use of the three pencil probes located at various lengths from the detonation point. Detonation of each explosive was also recorded with speed of 2600 FPS by Phantom v9.1 high-speed camera. Performed test indicates that, the properties of the blast wave highly depends from the kind of used explosive. The same has been observed in case of the combustion mechanism. Overpressure measured during the test is higher in case of the RDX based charges in all tested samples. Moreover, overpressure related to the blast wave decreases as the length from the detonation point increases. The combustion of tested explosives differed significantly. The combustion area of the ammonium nitrate based charges is rather small. The gases, mixed with solid combustion residues and Al powder, start to be released from the combustion area a short time after the detonation. Released gases cover the combustion area and the area close to the tested charge in a very short time. Released gases with solid residues remain in the detonation area for a long time after detonation. The combustion area after the detonation of RDX based charges is much larger and remain around the charge in longer time. After some time, the combustion area starts to decrease and float higher and higher above the ground level. Conducted research indicates that the presented experimental setup provides a wide range of research data about the energetic performance of explosive charges. Conducted research indicate that, the properties of the blast wave and the combustion process highly depends from the used explosive.