Theory of the detonation of weak condensed explosives

The possibilities of detonation taking place in a material characterized by a shock adiabatic containing a sharp break (leading to a double shock-wave configuration) are examined. The range of possible velocities D of a self-sustaining detonation in the second shock wave is determined; D may be subsonic with respect to the original material. However, even for an arbitrarily low velocity of sound the range of subsonic D values above the break point on the adiabat is extremely limited: The minimum detonation velocity D_min coincides (apart from a factor of 0.5–0.8) with the velocity of a longitudinal sound wave in the original material below the break point. This limitation with regard to D is associated with the formation of a wave of rarefaction in the reaction products, For D < D_min the shock wave of rarefaction reaches the Jouguet point and breaks the steady-state complex of the detonation wave. The results obtained are valid not only for weak, but also for powerful, explosive substances, if (by virtue of any kind of losses) low-velocity forms of detonation are realized in these materials.