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8387195 
Meetings & Symposia 
Quantitative distinction between detonation and afterburn energy deposition using pressure-time histories in enclosed explosions 
Ames, RG; Drotar, JT; Silber, J; Sambrook, J 
2006 
253-262 
English 
Fuel-rich explosives (e.g. TNT or Thermobarics) ignited in air will normally produce two primary reactions: a detonation (or deflagration) and an afterburn. The detonation reaction occurs as a result of the combustion of the fuel and oxidizer contained in the explosive material; it does not require ambient oxygen. The fuel that remains after the detonation is then available to react with ambient oxygen. This "afterburn" reaction is limited by diffusion and/or turbulent mixing and is, therefore, normally characterized by time scales that are several orders of magnitude greater than those associated with the detonation. This paper postulates that because of this difference in reaction time scales, the early-time blast pressures are a function of the detonation/deflagration energy, alone, and provides a number of techniques that relate these early blast pressures to the energy released during the detonation process. It further builds on previous work to show that the total energy release (i.e. detonation plus afterburn) is a function only of the end-state quasi-static pressure when the explosion occurs in a closed chamber. As such, the paper provides a technique by which the relative amounts of detonation and afterburn energy release can be estimated when detailed pressure-time histories are available for enclosed explosions.