Shock to Detonation Transition of Plastic Bonded Aluminized Explosives

Abstract

Aluminum particles are usually added to plastic bonded explosives (PBX) in order to increase blast efficiency thanks to their post‐combustion with detonation products and air. These particles modify the shock to detonation (SDT) process of PBX. Their role has not been well understood. That is why, in this paper we proposed a review of the main hypotheses concerning aluminum particles effects on SDT. The main issue of thermal and mechanical equilibrium is discussed with the estimation of their impact on the Euler equations. This study also sums up the experimental data registered on RDX and HMX aluminized explosives. A comparison with a reference PBX is proposed and a new light on the mechanism of shock to detonation transition is given.