Microscopic Imaging and Optical Pressure Measurements of Detonations

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

The microstructure of solid high explosives can affect their safety and performance. However, the extreme conditions in the vicinity of detonating explosives make high‐resolution imaging and data acquisition challenges. A new diagnostic method is presented here that allows microscopic imaging of self‐supported detonations while optically measuring pressures in an arbitrary confiner material nearby using an imaging fiber and an image intensifier at a safe distance. Tests with pressed pellets of HMX and PBX 9501 revealed features during pore collapse in engineered holes and detonation reaction zone morphology and thickness. Interface experiments allowed the measurement of pressure at the boundary between the explosive and a silicone polymer and the determination of the specific heat ratio for the gaseous products. The same methodology can be used to fit any form of equation‐of‐state and Hugoniot curves for arbitrary materials using few simple experiments.