Connecting details of heterogeneous explosives reactive wave profiles to the hydrodynamic reaction rate

The future of energetic materials development, especially high-performance high explosives, demands new efficient and cost-effective experimental methods to understand the performance of new materials when only limited, development-scale quantities are available. We also need efficient methods to understand the effects on explosive performance that result from manufacturing variability, service environment, and aging effects. Here, we explore the quantitative relationship between characteristics of a reactive wave profile and the hydrodynamic reaction rate for use in model-based assessments. The wave profiles were recorded from a relatively efficient so-called ‘cut-back’ experimental method, using laser velocimetry for the diagnostic. The initial pressurization rate, or particle acceleration, behind the initial shock wave directly and quantitatively reflects the reaction rate for a given shock velocity-pressure. With this knowledge, and equations-of-state information, we can use relatively sparse data to determine the reaction rate over a pressure range useful to simulate and assess the shock initiation regime. We deem the approach useful for efficient evaluation of new explosive formulations and variations in existing formulations.