Experimental research on TNT equivalent of different explosives based on air shock wave

Abstract. Equivalence is a convenient way to describe an effect, comparing it with an appropriate well-defined case. That approach is often used in the performance assessment of explosives. Since TNT is commonly used in explosive ordnance, other explosives are usually described using the TNT equivalent. It is especially useful in safety considerations for shock waves generated in air by an explosive, where simple calculation methods are developed for practical engineering usage. In this research, experimental overpressure and impulse of air shock wave for different explosive mixtures, including mixtures based on hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene, HMX, ammonium perchlorate and metal powders, were compared with appropriate parameters and numerical models for TNT. The parameters of air shock wave were measured using piezoelectric sensors. The results were analysed using appropriate numerical methods in order to determine coefficients of TNT equivalence for considered explosives.