Enhanced Diagnostic Capabilities for Laser-induced Plasmas containing Metal Energetic Additives

Automation of shockwave edge detection and data processing have expanded the utility of the induced air shock for energetic materials (LASEM) method in measuring relative microsecond energy release of reactive/energetic materials based on their chemistry in the laser-induced plasma. Acoustic measurements corroborate imaged shock velocities and augment data into a 2D performance space, while new system configurations allow for understanding the effect of environment on plasma & shock properties. We provide examples of various commercially available metal samples under several post-detonation gases (e.g., N₂, CO₂, etc.) and pressures. These experiments provide insight into the effect of reactant gas on species formation occurring within the plasma by leveraging in situ optical measurements for each laser shot. These techniques include high-speed imaging, species imaging, optical pyrometry, spectroscopy, and time-resolved emissive species measurements. We will also discuss recent efforts to automate and optimize data acquisition and processing, as well as outline our vision of machine learning dataset generation for energetic materials at the click of a button.