IMPROVED TEMPERATURE CONTROL SYSTEM FOR GAS GUN TARGETS

The temperature control system for gas gun targets was originally designed to heat or cool a sample to a final temperature between −75 °C and +120 °C. The system has now been used for 14 experiments, 13 of which were on the high explosive PBX 9502 cooled to a final temperature of −55 °C. These experiments have stimulated us to make many improvements, including redesigned plumbing and an extension of the heating range to +250 °C. In addition, rise time data from the magnetic gauges indicates that sample/projectile tilt is on the order of 10 milliradians. An optical system was built to measure changes in the sample surface position and orientation. Measurements made on a Teflon test sample will be presented.