...................................................................................................................... iii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS .............................................................................................. v GLOSSARY....................................................................................................................... vi 1.0 INTRODUCTION...........

Pulse detonation technology can be a revolutionary approach for propulsion system since it offers significant fuel efficiency, higher thrust to weight ratio and low cost. Although the design concept of a pulse detonation engine is comparatively simple, but the development and stabilization of sustainable detonation wave front is difficult. Consequently pulse detonation engine technology is stil...

A series of trinitromethyl/trinitroethyl substituted derivatives of 2,4,6,8,10,12-hexanitro-2,4,6,8,10,12-hexaazatetracyclo[5,5,0, 0(3.11),0(5.9)] dodecane (CL-20) were designed and investigated by theoretical methods. Intramolecular interactions between the trinitromethyl/trinitroethyl and the cage were investigated. The effects of trinitromethyl/trinitroethyl groups on stability of the parent...

We present results of a linear stability analysis of relativistic detonation fronts, which have been considered as representing phase interfaces in cosmological first order phase transitions. After discussing general stability conditions for detonation fronts, we concentrate on the properties of the fronts with respect to corrugation instabilities and discuss separately the cases of Chapman-Jou...

Experiments were carried out in FY04 on detonation wave structure, detonation wave diffraction, and the fracture of thin-walled tubes by detonation waves. Computations were performed on detonation wave propagation and the elastic response of tubes to detonation loading. One new effort was initiated on the diffraction of detonation waves, and the other activities were a continuation of previous ...

Research at the Explosion Dynamics Laboratories at Caltech over the past three years under an ONR contract has examined many issues critical to Pulse Detonation Engine (PDE) development. These include: fundamental and applied studies of detonation initiation; detonation cell width measurements to characterize fuels, including JP10; visualization of the reaction zone structure of propagating det...

One of the basic equations to analyze the detonation of high explosives is the equation of state of the detonation products. Due to the very high pressure of the product, the direct measurement of the thermodynamic variables such as pressure or temperature is not possible. In this research, the parameters of BKW and HOM equations of state of detonation products are determined via experimental m...