Detonation wave velocity and curvature of a plastic-bonded, nonideal explosive PBXN-111 as a function of diameter and confinement

Detonation velocities and wave front curvatures are measured on various diameter cylinders of PBXN-111 (RDX/AP/Al/HTPB binder with 20/43/25/12 weight percent). The cylinders are either unconfined or encased in 5-mm-thick brass tubes. In all experiments with brass tubes (diameters from 19 to 100 mm) the detonation velocity of PBXN-111 was affected by the confinement. Steady detonation waves propagated in brass encased charges with diameters as small as 19 mm, which is about half of the 37.1 mm failure diameter for unconfined PBXN-111. The radii of curvature at the center of the detonation wave fronts ranged from 52 to 480 mm for charge diameters from 25 to 100 mm, respectively. Detonation velocity as a function of radius of curvature at the wave’s center is represented by a single curve for both cased and uncased cylindrical charges. The difference in the axial position of the detonation wave at the center of the charge and at the edge of the charge (i.e., lag distance) are between 1.6 and 6.7 mm. The angles between the detonation wave fronts and the brass/charge interfaces are between 73° and 82° while the angles at the cylindrical free surface for the uncased charges are between 61° and 64°. Calculation of this angle for brass encased charges using oblique shock equations and assuming no reaction in the shock front resulted in angles 8° higher than measured except for the 100-mm-diam charge which was in agreement. The calculated angles for the uncased charge are in agreement with the measured values.