Detonation of Condensed Explosives (Shock Wave and High Pressure Phenomena)

This work marks a stage in the evolution of a scientific and technical field which has been developed by the Commissariat a l'Energie Atomique (CEA) over several decades. Many members of the staff of the CEA have won re­ nown in this field, and their work has brought it to the high degree of excel­ lence for which it is internationally recognized today. These scientists had to consider every aspect of the field, as it concerned: modeling, which has recourse to fluid thermodynamics, molecular phys­ ics, and chemistry; numerical evaluation, which relies on mathematical analysis and data processing; and experiments in the firing area, which require specific stress generators and instrumentation. Whilst this book is a testament to the activity and success of staff of the CEA, it also reviews a number ofthe advances made in the discipline. How­ ever, it is not intended to be an exhaustive account of those advances; it is assumed that the reader can, if desired, consult the standard monographs, and more recent, more specialized works (notably W.C. Davis and W. Fickett, and C.L. Mader). The history of the discipline is interesting in itself, and also as an illustra­ tion of the causes which lead to progress in a coherent body of scientific work. I should like to make some comments on this progress, of which there is a fascinating summary in the introduction, and which will figure largely throughout the work. Front Matter....Pages i-xxii Front Matter....Pages 1-1 Generalities Concerning the Reactive Fluid....Pages 3-26 Jump Relations in a Perfect Fluid....Pages 27-61 The Detonation Layer....Pages 62-106 Back Matter....Pages 107-109 Front Matter....Pages 111-111 Sensitivity to “Shock” and Molecular Structure....Pages 113-124 Sensitivity to “Shock” and Electronic Structure....Pages 125-141 Explosive Decomposition....Pages 142-152 Back Matter....Pages 153-155 Front Matter....Pages 157-157 Cooperative Mechanisms....Pages 159-169 Coupling of Decomposition and Motion....Pages 170-188 Generation of Detonation by Plane Shock....Pages 189-214 Front Matter....Pages 215-215 Experimental Methods....Pages 217-306 Elementary Configurations of Simple Detonation....Pages 307-339 Numerical Predictions....Pages 340-385 Epilogue....Pages 386-389 Back Matter....Pages 390-427 This monograph on high-density explosives presents a self-contained exposition of the progress made in numerical methods and computer modeling of explosions of solids, liquids and compressed gases. Using such modern methods as matched asymptotic expansions and quantum chemical calculations, the author treats the molecular, mesoscopic, and macroscopic scales. The treatment covers thermodynamic aspects of propagation, molecular mechanisms of explosive decomposition, generation of detonation, and the dynamical characterization of explosives. This monograph on high-density explosives presents a self-contained exposition of the progress made in numerical methods and the computer modelling of the explosions of solids, liquids and compressed gases.