Enhanced Initiation Behavior of Reactive Material Projectiles Impacting Covered Explosives

Reactive materials bring the dramatically enhanced lethality by means of the combined defeat mechanisms of impact kinetic energy and chemical energy release. This paper presents such an investigation on these reactive materials for the enhanced initiation behavior of covered explosives. First, a simple initiation process comparison between the inert metal and reactive material projectiles impacting covered explosives is described. Then high velocity ballistic impact experiments, which include both reactive material and tungsten alloy projectiles with mass matched against covered explosives, are conducted to investigate and compare the initiation behavior of covered explosives. Finally, theoretical analysis and discussions about contributions of both kinetic energy-to-initiation and chemical energy-to-initiation mechanisms to the enhanced initiation behavior of covered explosives impacted by reactive materials are presented.