NUMERICAL MODELING OF MUNROE JETS

Munroe jets are formed by the oblique interaction of detonation products from two explosive charges separated by an air gap. The jet consists of a high velocity jet of low density precursor gases and particles that travel faster than the primary jet which is a high pressure regular reflection. The Los Alamos PHERMEX Data Volumes contain 40 radiographs taken by Douglas Venable in the 1960's of Munroe Jets generated by Composition B explosive charges separated by 5 to 80 mm of air. In several of the experiments the Munroe jets interacted with thin Tantalum foils and with aluminum plates. The PHERMEX experiments were modeled using the AMR Eulerian reactive hydrodynamic code NOBEL. When the detonation arrives at the bottom of the gap, the detonation products expand against the air and precursor gases travel at high velocity ahead of the detonation wave in the explosive. The expanding detonation products from the explosive collide and result in a high pressure shock reflection. Interaction with a metal plate consists of first the interaction of the precursor gases and then the high pressure regular shock reflection arrives to further damage the metal plate.