Blast enhancement from metalized explosives

Abstract Experiments are carried out to determine the effects of particle size and mass loading on free-field blast wave from spherical, constant volume metalized explosive charges. The charges comprised gelled nitromethane with uniformly embedded aluminum, magnesium, or glass particles. Particle sizes varied over an order magnitude fractions up 50%. Peak overpressures directly measured within fireball piezoelectric pressure gauges outside inferred by tracking velocity using Rankine–Hugoniot relation. With addition inert particles, peak overpressure is initially mitigated, but then recovers in far field. For reactive particles react promptly oxidizers detonation products release energy as early first few hundred microseconds all cases. enhances field twice values for a charge baseline homogenous explosive. By plotting decay function energy-scaled distance, it that at least half contributes higher loadings, nearly fraction 10%. augmentation not systematic size. This observation implies conventional models combustion depend surface area appropriate describing rapid aluminum reaction occurs extreme conditions products, which influences propagation.