Investigation of the ability of nonel shock tubes to generate high pressure shock waves

Abstract. Generation of high pressures in the laboratory has been so far a non-trivial task to execute, as the usual way of the generation is either with explosives, or within a shock tube. Both options require rather specific infrastructure. In the case of explosives, a dedicated test range and with shock tubes high pressure certified equipment. To overcome possible local regulatory obstacles in setting up the latter, we propose to use Nonel as a safe, cost-effective and reliable source of energy for the blast wave generation. Nonel is a plastic tube filled with HMX/Al mixture, and its output consists of a shock wave and flame. The shock wave generated into a lab-scale shock tube with nonel could reach considerable overpressures starting at 25 kPa. Custom HMX/Al filled “nonels” were prepared to obtain higher overpressures, reaching up to 100 kPa. This concept advantageously uses nonel for generating shock waves in the shock tubes, thus avoiding necessity of bare explosives and detonators. Therefore, it provides a suitable way of shock wave examination in small-scale conditions, while preserving safety in terms of manipulation and sensitivity.