High speed radiometric measurements of IED detonation fireballs

Matthew T. Spidell; J. Motos Gordon; Jeremey Pitz; Kevin C. Gross; Glen P. Perram

doi:10.1117/12.850126

26 April 2010 High speed radiometric measurements of IED detonation fireballs

Matthew T. Spidell, J. Motos Gordon, Jeremey Pitz, Kevin C. Gross, Glen P. Perram

Proceedings Volume 7668, Airborne Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance (ISR) Systems and Applications VII; 76680C (2010) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.850126
Event: SPIE Defense, Security, and Sensing, 2010, Orlando, Florida, United States

Abstract

Continuum emission is predominant in fireball spectral phenomena and in some demonstrated cases, fine detail in the temporal evolution of infrared spectral emissions can be used to estimate size and chemical composition of the device. Recent work indicates that a few narrow radiometric bands may reveal forensic information needed for the explosive discrimination and classification problem, representing an essential step in moving from "laboratory" measurements to a rugged, fieldable system. To explore phenomena not observable in previous experiments, a high speed (10μs resolution) radiometer with four channels spanning the infrared spectrum observed the detonation of nine home made explosive (HME) devices in the < 100lb class. Radiometric measurements indicate that the detonation fireball is well approximated as a single temperature blackbody at early time (0 < t ⪅ 3ms). The effective radius obtained from absolute intensity indicates fireball growth at supersonic velocity during this time. Peak fireball temperatures during this initial detonation range between 3000.3500K. The initial temperature decay with time (t ⪅ 10ms) can be described by a simple phenomenological model based on radiative cooling. After this rapid decay, temperature exhibits a small, steady increase with time (10 ⪅ t ⪅ 50ms) and peaking somewhere between 1000.1500K-likely the result of post-detonation combustion-before subsequent cooling back to ambient conditions . Radius derived from radiometric measurements can be described well (R² > 0.98) using blast model functional forms, suggesting that energy release could be estimated from single-pixel radiometric detectors. Comparison of radiometer-derived fireball size with FLIR infrared imagery indicate the Planckian intensity size estimates are about a factor of two smaller than the physical extent of the fireball.

Citation Download Citation

Matthew T. Spidell, J. Motos Gordon, Jeremey Pitz, Kevin C. Gross, and Glen P. Perram "High speed radiometric measurements of IED detonation fireballs", Proc. SPIE 7668, Airborne Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance (ISR) Systems and Applications VII, 76680C (26 April 2010); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.850126

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