Carbon resistor gauges for measuring shock and detonation pressures. I. Principles of functioning and calibration

✍ Scribed by James L. Austing; Allen J. Tulis; Donald J. Hrdina; Douglas E. Baker; Ricardo Martinez

• Book ID: 105355719
• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1991
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 1005 KB
• Volume: 16
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0721-3115
• DOI: 10.1002/prep.19910160502

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

The state of the art relative to the measurement of shock and detonation pressures of the magnitude generaled by condensed high explosives is reviewed. Carbon resistors have been shown to provide a relatively inexpensive and direct method for such measurements, provided adequate calibration data are available. The gauge is fabricated by heat‐sealing the carbon resistor (470 Ω, 0.125 W) into a suitable plastic material such as polystyrene; when subjected to a strong shock wave, the gauge undergoes compression and the conductivity increases in proprtion to the magnitude of the pressure. The present investigation was concerned with the experimental derivation of calibration equations relating the pressure (in gigapascal) as a function of the conductivity change ΔG (in siemens). The point of inflaction occurring at approximately 2.36 GPa, corresponding to 0.02082 S, is in agreement with previous observations in the literature. Additional experiments are being planned to resolve a problem concerning oscillatory ringing in the gauge voltage records.