Electromagnetic gauge measurements of shock initiating PBX9501 and PBX9502 explosives

The authors have used an embedded electromagnetic particle velocity gauge technique to measure the shock initiation behavior in PBX9501 and PBX9502 explosives. Experiments have been conducted in which up to twelve separate measurements have been made in a single experiment which detail the growth from an input shock to a detonation. In addition, another gauge element called a shock tracker has been used to monitor the progress of the shock front as a function of time, thus providing a position-time trajectory of the wave front as it moves through the explosive sample. This provides similar data to that obtained in a traditional wedge test and is used to determine the position and time that the wave attains detonation. Data on both explosives show evidence of heterogeneous initiation (growth in the front) and homogeneous initiation (growth behind the front) with the PBX9502 showing more Heterogeneous behavior and the PBX 9501 showing more homogeneous behavior.