Los Alamos National Laboratory is currently designing a series of direct optically initiated (DOI) detonators.The primary purpose of this series of detonators is to achieve a level of safety in the face of unintentional initiation from an electrical source. The purpose of these experiments is to determine the minimum spotsize that will initiate the low density initial pressing in these laser detonators. With this information it is expected that a more robust optically initiated detonator can be designed and manufactured. Results from a series of experiments will be discussed. First a range of small core diameter fiber optics with varying energy injection levels will be tested to find the minimum energy level necessary to achieve reliable initiation. Second, a range of apertures will be employed to trim the spotsize down to a minimum size that will still maintain reliable initiation. This information will help to understand whether the initiation criteria for the DOI Laser Detonator are dominated by energy density, total energy or a combination of these criteria.
Although bridgewire energetic components have been baseline for numerous applicatiom, they have inherent safety limitations since they are subject to the effects of spurious electromagnetic pulses and electrostatic discharges. These safety concerns have been the driving force for the development of laser-ignited energetic components. This has been made possible by the design and development of novel processing techniques and through an undentanding of the laser ignition process. Several Werent laserignited components were fabricated and their firing characteristics with a fiber optic delivery system were investigated. Tests of the various designs were performed by loading them w i t h various energetic materials including CP/carbon black or HMX/carbon black blends. Neyer Sensitivity Tests to determine ignition thresholds were performed using either an AlGaAs laser diode or a cw-Nd:YAG laser as the ignition source. The results demonstrate how the carefid design and proCessing of laser-ignited components can signiticantly enhance the application of this technology. *Fellow, Member, AIAA, (513)865-3558.
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