Shock tube design for high intensity blast waves for laboratory testing of armor and combat materiel

Shock tubes create simulated blast waves which can be directed and measured to study blast wave effects under laboratory conditions. It is desirable to increase available peak pressure from ∼1 MPa to ∼5 MPa to simulate closer blast sources and facilitate development and testing of personal and vehicle armors. Three methods are experimentally investigated to increase peak simulated blast pressure produced by an oxy-acetylene driven shock tube while maintaining suitability for laboratory studies. The first method is the addition of a Shchelkin spiral priming section which supports a deflagration to detonation transition. This approach increases the average peak pressure from 1.17 MPa to 5.33 MPa while maintaining a relevant pressure-time curve (near Friedlander waveform). The second method is a bottleneck between the driving and driven sections. Coupling a 79 mm diameter driving section to a 53 mm driven section increases the peak pressure from 1.17 MPa to 2.25 MPa. A 103 mm driving section is used to increase peak pressure to 2.64 MPa. The third method, adding solid fuel to the driving section with the oxy-acetylene, results in a peak pressure increasing to 1.70 MPa.