Measurement of temperature and water vapor concentration using laser absorption spectroscopy in kilogram-scale explosive fireballs

Michael Soo, Chris Murzyn, Adam Sims, Jay Cerow, Nick Glumac, James Ott, Michael DeMagistris, Neeraj Sinha, James Lightstone

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

Abstract

The temperature, water vapor concentration, and pressure within a kilogram-scale high-explosive fireball are probed using a custom, tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy setup housed in a ruggedized gauge. Explosive fireballs are generated by the detonation of 2.2 kg spherical charges of C-4 high explosive at one end of a partially enclosed concrete tunnel structure. The 0.3 m fixed path-length absorption gauge is placed at varying stand-off distances from the charge at 6.4 m, 3.9 m, and 2.4 m, over several tests, to show survivability, measurement quality, and a repeatability. Changing the explosive composition to a 2.2 kg aluminized charge resulted in an explosive fireball that caused heavy beam attenuation at a 2.4 m stand-off distance due to the presence of added condensed-phase material. Reliable temperature measurements in the aluminized charge fireball were not possible due to the low signal-to-noise ratio and distortion of the background signal. Numerical simulations of the explosion in the hallway structure are performed using the CRAFT computational fluid dynamics code. While the simulations demonstrate general agreement with the hydrostatic pressure features measured in the experiment, the model predicts temperatures significantly higher than the temperature sensitivity limit of the probed spectral band feature and exhibits fluctuations of temperature on the order of several hundred kelvin due to turbulence.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publicationShock Compression of Condensed Matter - 2019
Subtitle of host publicationProceedings of the Conference of the American Physical Society Topical Group on Shock Compression of Condensed Matter
EditorsJ. Matthew D. Lane, Timothy C. Germann, Michael R. Armstrong, Ryan Wixom, David Damm, Joseph Zaug
PublisherAmerican Institute of Physics Inc.
ISBN (Electronic)9780735440005
DOIs
StatePublished - Nov 2 2020
Event21st Biennial American Physical Society Conference on Shock Compression of Condensed Matter, SCCM 2019 - Portland, United States
Duration: Jun 16 2019Jun 21 2019

Publication series

NameAIP Conference Proceedings
Volume2272
ISSN (Print)0094-243X
ISSN (Electronic)1551-7616

Conference

Conference21st Biennial American Physical Society Conference on Shock Compression of Condensed Matter, SCCM 2019
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityPortland
Period6/16/196/21/19

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Physics and Astronomy

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