Initiating Aluminized High Explosives by Laser Radiation

Abstract

A number of physical and chemical processes occurring under the action of a laser pulse in nanosized aluminum and aluminized explosives on the basis of fine-grained PETN and benzotrifuroxane along with estimates of the effect of aluminum of the explosive transformation dynamics in these explosives conclude that it is possible to initiate aluminized explosives by laser radiation. The estimated and experimental results show that the main source of hot spots capable of causing an explosive transformation in aluminized explosives under the action of a laser pulse can be a compression wave that forms as a result of rapid evaporation of a sufficient number of aluminum particles. It is shown experimentally that aluminized explosives based on fine-grained RDX and HMX can be initiated by a laser pulse whose source is no more powerful than that in the case of PETN and benzotrifuroxane.