Simple explosive plane wave booster designs for 1-D shock experiments

A common 1-dimensional shock wave source is a flyer plate driven by a gas or powder gun, typically reaching peak pressures in explosive samples of ∼15 GPa over an∼50 mm diameter. Experiments that require larger input areas, higher input pressures and/or long 1-D run distances (>3 cm), are currently out of reach of these facilities. An attractive alternative to gun-driven flyers in these cases is an explosive plane wave booster (PWB). The PWB uses an explosive train to produce a 1-D wave with output diameters of up to 30 cm or more. Shock pressure levels may be adjusted through the use of inert attenuator plates or an explosive booster pad on the output of the PWB. Traditional ‘dual velocity’ (P-XX series) PWBs require precision machining of two explosive billets, and as such can be difficult to produce and prohibitively expensive. This work explores two unique PWB designs, the NOL air cavity PWB and the NSWC IH polymer PWB. Both use cast explosives to simplify production, and are easily scalable to the size of the required experiment. Their relative simultaneity and peak pressures are quantified using streak photography and photon Doppler velocimetry (PDV), and compared with a P-40 PWB. The NSWC IH Polymer PWB was found to exceed the desired wave flatness and manufacturability criteria required, and will be produced at NSWC IH for use in insensitive munitions characterization experiments.