Major advances, both in modeling methods and in the computing power required to make those methods viable, have led to major breakthroughs in our ability to model the performance and vulnerability of explosives and propellants. In addition, the development of proton radiography during the last decade has provided researchers with a major new experimental tool for studying explosive and shock wave physics. Problems that were once considered intractable – such as the generation of water cavities, jets, and stems by explosives and projectiles – have now been solved. Numerical Modeling of Explosives and Propellants, Third Edition provides a complete overview of this rapidly emerging field, covering basic reactive fluid dynamics as well as the latest and most complex methods and findings. It also describes and evaluates Russian contributions to the experimental explosive physics database, which only recently have become available. This book comes with downloadable resources that contain— · FORTRAN and executable computer codes that operate under Microsoft® Windows Vista operating system and the OS X operating system for Apple computers · Windows Vista and MAC compatible movies and PowerPoint presentations for each chapter · Explosive and shock wave databases generated at the Los Alamos National Laboratory and the Russian Federal Nuclear Centers Charles Mader’s three-pronged approach – through text, computer programs, and animations – imparts a thorough understanding of new computational methods and experimental measuring techniques, while also providing the tools to put these methods to effective use.

Charles Mader, a leading scientist who conducted theoretical research at Los Alamos National Laboratory for more than 30 years, sets a new standard with this reference on numerical modeling of explosives and propellants. This book updates and expands the information presented in the author's landmark work, Numerical Modeling of Detonations, published in 1979 and still in use today. Numerical Modeling of Explosives and Propellants incorporates the considerable changes the personal computer has brought to numerical modeling since the first book was published, and includes new three-dimensional modeling techniques and new information on propellant performance and vulnerability. Both an introduction to the physics and chemistry of explosives and propellants and a guide to numerical modeling of detonation and reactive fluid dynamics, Numerical Modeling of Explosives and Propellants offers scientists and engineers a complete picture of the current state of explosive and propellant technology and numerical modeling. The book is richly illustrated with figures that support the concepts, and filled with tables for quick access to precise data. The accompanying CD-ROM contains computer codes that are the national standard by which modeling is evaluated. Dynamic material properties data files and animation files are also included. There is no other book available today that offers this vital information.

Part of the difficulty in developing physically based models of shock initiation which have genuine predictive capability is that insufficient constraints are often imposed: models are most often applied to very limited data sets which encompass very narrow parameter ranges. Therefore, it seems to be of considerable value to examine the rather large existing shock initiation database to identify trends, similarities, and differences, which predictive models must describe, if they are to be of genuinely utility. In this paper, existing open-literature data for shock initiation of detonation of heterogeneous explosives in one-dimensional geometries have been examined. The intent was to identify -- and where possible, isolate -- physically measurable and controllable parameter effects. Plastic bonded explosives with a variety of different binders and binder concentrations were examined. Data for different pressed explosive particulate materials and particle size distributions were reviewed. Effects of porosity were examined in both binderless and particle-matrix compositions. Effects of inert and reactive binders, and inert and reactive particle fills were examined. In several instances, the calculated data used by the original authors in their analysis was recalculated to correct for discrepancies and errors in the original analysis.