Velocity of Detonation (VoD) is an important measured characteristic parameter of explosive materials. When new explosives are developed, their VoD must be determined. Devices used to measure VoD are always destroyed in the process, however replacing these devices represents a considerable cost in the characterisation of new explosives. This paper reports the design and performance of three low-cost implementations of a point-to-point VoD measurement system, two using optical fibre and a third using piezoelectric polymers (PolyVinyliDine Flouride, PVDF). The devices were designed for short charges used under controlled laboratory conditions and were tested using the common explosive 'Composition B'. These new devices are a fraction of the cost of currently available VoD sensors and show promise in achieving comparable accuracy. Their future development will dramatically reduce the cost of testing and aid the characterisation of new explosives.

Date Published: 28 February 2005
PDF: 9 pages
Proc. SPIE 5649, Smart Structures, Devices, and Systems II, (28 February 2005); doi: 10.1117/12.582232

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 5649:
Smart Structures, Devices, and Systems II
Said F. Al-Sarawi, Editor(s)