Effects of multiple. 30-caliber bullet impacts on steel-encased explosives: Experimental Report I
Thirty-one experiments have been performed in a series where typical explosive formulations for weapons were encased in steel vessels and impacted by up to six .30-caliber bullets fired at 1.2-s intervals. We have observed that detonation can occur on the second bullet impact if the high-explosive configuration (detonator, booster, and main charge) is complete and tested at an elevated temperature. So far, shots with some mock parts have exploded (no detonation) after several bullet impacts, where the response to preceeding bullets ranged from no reaction to violent deflagration. When RX-26-AF was substituted for the booster explosive LX-10, there was reduced violence. Conversely, when we completely replaced all the high-explosive components with a solid filling of LX-10, we discovered a charge-size limitation where detonation occurred on the first bullet impact. To help quantify the violence exhibited by these detonations, we purposely detonated one shot and compared the high-speed camera records and recovery samples.
- Research Organization:
- Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-7405-ENG-48
- OSTI ID:
- 6113704
- Report Number(s):
- UCID-20237; ON: DE85005786
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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