Detonation Front Curvatures and Detonation Rates

Many detonation front curvatures are reviewed. Most are of the Shock Dynamics type, which are described as a combination of quadratic and 8th power-of-the-radius curves. The integrated fraction of the 8th power curve is taken as a measure of curvature, which we are able to relate to the logarithm of the detonation rate. This provides a means of estimating the rates of some unknown explosives from the curvature. Using the edge lag divided by the radius is an even better way. A second group of curvatures are almost or purely quadratic. This is probably not associated with density gradients but may be caused by low sound speeds. A final group of “sombreros” show curvy fronts for ideal explosives, which appear to be caused by density gradients.