Results of airblast and temperature measurements, Project Essex I, Phase 3

Airblast and flare temperature measurements were made on a 42 GJ detonation buried 5.85 m deep with a 165 mm dia open hole to the surface. Identification of a late-time pulse, attributed to afterburning of detonation products, led to a re-examination of data from earlier detonations of the Essex I series. The late-time pulse appears only for certain explosives and combinations of emplacement, stemming, and medium. Measurements made at 1 km and beyond permitted continued development of systematic suppression of airblast as a function of charge burial and stemming. Measurements of gas pressure of the flare emerging from the open hole indicated peak overpressures slightly greater than 690 bars. Measurement of flare temperatures of incandescent gas emerging from the open hole proved the feasibility of using photo-optical and photodiode techniques and demonstrated the ability to process data from both. Flare temperatures far less than predicted on the basis of an earlier shot prevented a direct comparison of the two techniques