Abstract
The extremely high power density stored in explosives drives their selection of use in military, mining, demolition, cladding, shock consolidation of powders, shock-induced chemical synthesis and magnetic flux compression processes. The use of distributed initiation locations has emerged as a primary method to customize the detonation front and create desirable output. Explosive/metal systems with multiple, distributed initiation locations create detonation states that do not follow the simple line of sight, or Huygens model and, hence, advanced detonation physics with associated theory are required. The theory of detonation shock dynamics (DSD) is one such description used to provide high fidelity modeling of complex wave structures. A collection of experiments using simultaneous ultra-high speed digital framing and streak film cameras is presented as a means of obtaining spatial and temporal characteristics of complex detonation fronts that validate the DSD descriptions. The method of test, operational conditions and results are given to demonstrate the use of high rate imaging of detonation events and how this validates our understanding of the physics and the capability of advanced detonation wave tracking models.
