Publications

Fireballs produced from the detonation of high explosives often contain particulates primarily composed of various phases of carbon soot. The transport and concentration of these particulates is of interest for model validation and emission characterization. This work proposes ultra-high-speed imaging techniques to observe a fireball's structure and optical depth. An extinction-based diagnostic applied at two wavelengths indicates that extinction scales inversely with wavelength, consistent with particles in the Rayleigh limit and dimensionless extinction coefficients which are independent of wavelength. Within current confidence bounds, the extinction-derived soot mass concentrations agree with expectations based upon literature reported soot yields. Results also identify areas of high uncertainty where additional work is recommended.

Abstract not provided.

Detonation of explosive devices produces extremely hazardous fragments and hot, luminous fireballs. Prior experimental investigations of these post-detonation environments have primarily considered devices containing hundreds of grams of explosives. While relevant to many applications, such large- scale testing also significantly restricts experimental diagnostics and provides limited data for model validation. As an alternative, the current work proposes experiments and simulations of the fragmentation and fireballs from commercial detonators with less than a gram of high explosive. As demonstrated here, reduced experimental hazards and increased optical access significantly expand the viability of advanced imaging and laser diagnostics. Notable developments include the first known validation of MHz-rate optical fragment tracking and the first ever Coherent Anti-Stokes Raman Scattering (CARS) measures of post-detonation fireball temperatures. While certainly not replacing the need for full-scale verification testing, this work demonstrates new opportunities to accelerate developments of diagnostics and predictive models of post-detonation environments.

Abstract not provided.

Abstract not provided.