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Blast wave modification by detonator placement

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Abstract

The blast wave generated by a high explosive detonation is dependent not only on the shape of the charge but on the location of the detonator or detonators. Even for a spherical charge, the blast wave can be very asymmetric if the initiation is not at the center of the charge. The asymmetry is even greater for cylindrical charges. High-resolution, high-fidelity calculations of the blast wave generated by several spherical and cylindrical charges have been used to quantify these differences for free-field blast propagation. Except for the center-detonated spherical charge, the blast wave never becomes spherical. Several examples are shown to demonstrate and quantify the asymmetries and to illustrate that the blast wave, once asymmetric, can never regain spherical symmetry. At distances of over 40 charge radii, the asymmetries are clearly defined. As the overpressure at the shock front decays below half a bar, the propagation velocity approaches ambient sound speed. At half a bar (50 kPa), the Mach number of the shock is 1.19 and at a tenth of a bar (10 kPa) the shock velocity is only Mach 1.04. If the shock front is asymmetric at low overpressures, all parts of the shock front are moving at very nearly the same velocity and can therefore never “catch up” to other parts of the front: once asymmetric, always asymmetric. Results of several calculations have been analyzed to determine the quantitative differences in shock properties resulting from detonator placement and charge shape. Properties are significantly different behind the shock fronts, especially in the density distribution.

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Acknowledgements

This work was made possible by internal Applied Research Associates funding.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Needham Consulting LLC, Albuquerque, NM, USA

    C. Needham

  2. Applied Research Associates, Southwest Division, Albuquerque, NM, USA

    J. Brisby & D. Ortley

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  1. C. Needham
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  2. J. Brisby
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  3. D. Ortley
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Correspondence to C. Needham.

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Communicated by O. Igra.

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Needham, C., Brisby, J. & Ortley, D. Blast wave modification by detonator placement. Shock Waves 30, 615–627 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00193-020-00958-9

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