Modeling of PBX 9501 High Explosive Arc Experiments

Circular arc experiments have been recently employed at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) for the purpose of evaluating reactive burn in plastic bonded explosives. The circular arc configuration is attractive in that it is perhaps the simplest configuration that allows for an evaluation of the influence of diffraction upon detonation front curvature. In the present work several arc experiments are modeled using the LANL finite volume continuum mechanics code FLAG. Constitutive behavior is modeled using Wescott-Steward-Davis (WSD) models for both reactants and products. Reactive burn is modeled using Arrhenius-WSD (AWSD). Comparisons of simulation prediction to empirical data are made for detonation velocity as well as the shape of the detonation front.