High Explosive Initiation Behavior by Shaped Charge Jet Impacts

In a recent study [5] the initiation behavior of Plastic Bonded High Explosives (PBX) when attacked by a Shaped Charge Jet (SCJ) was investigated. Two initiation modes: Impact Initiation and Penetration Initiation were distinguished by varying between bare and covered test set-ups, depending on the contact between the metal casing and the PBX. The transition between the two initiation modes was addressed by conducting more basic investigations with test setups allowing the study of these transition phenomena.In the present work these more basic investigations were continued with theoretical studies on one hand supporting the findings in [5] by numerical simulations of the SCJ perforation and a simple analytic initiation model and on the other hand by additional trials applying lead as barrier material, increasing the sample diameter and splitting the sample charge into two parts.Where possible the results were compared with older results from Held ([11] - [12]) achieved with TNT-bonded Comp B high explosive.