Design of Experimental Series for Detonation Performance of Cast-Curable Explosives

Precision detonation performance tests require accurate measurements of charge dimensions, masses, and densities. To enable accurate determination of these parameters for cast-curable explosives which remain soft in their cured state, we designed a series of molds that can be used to produce charges with a variety of dimensions and shapes, including cylinders and slabs, both metal and plastic confined. These dimensions of these molds can be measured precisely before casting of the explosive, and measurements of wet and dry weights before and after casting can be used to determine the density of the charge. Special features of the molds include a vapor deposited aluminum mirror on the downstream surface of each test for front curvature measurements, and holes for mounting shorting pins directly on the surface of the explosive. In this work, we describe the molds in detail and provide preliminary results from tests using the molds.