Measurements of the Temperature Inside an Explosive Fireball

This paper discusses the development of a fiber optic probe that can obtain temperature measurements from the interior of explosive fireballs, which are generated when unreacted detonation products react with oxygen in the surrounding air. Signatures of the thermochemical environment and chemical species involved can often be deduced from their light emissions, but the limited optical depth of fireballs means that remote sensing techniques can only sample emissions from the outer shell. By developing a protected fiber optic probe that can be placed adjacent to an exploding charge, giving it the ability to become enveloped by the fireball, the thermal radiation from the interior of the fireball can be sampled. Measurement from five shots using Detasheet-C explosives were carried out and could be obtained over the course of about 20 ms. Blackbody-type radiation with temperatures in the 1600 K to 1900 K range were observed, peaking at about 1850 K after 12 ms. The magnitude and time behavior of the temperature was not significantly different when taken at different locations within the fireball, indicating that temperature is fairly uniform throughout. The lack of specific spectral emission lines implies that in the interior of the fireball any combustion that occurred was probably primarily with carbonaceous soot, though differences in optical depth at different locations in the fireball indicate that it was much more fuel-rich closer to the center.