Spatially Resolved Laser-Induced Air Shock from Energetic Materials (SR-LASEM) Measurements, Part II: Printed Ammonium Perchlorate-Copper(II) Oxide Deposits

Author(s):

Jennifer L. Gottfried

Abstract:

Spatially resolved laser-induced air shock from energetic materials (SR-LASEM) measurements were performed on printed ammonium perchlorate (AP)-copper(II) oxide (CuO) samples. The surface adhesion, sample homogeneity, batch-to-batch reproducibility, and influence of sample thickness on the energy release were investigated. No significant statistical differences in fast energy release were observed from batch to batch for the same number of deposition layers. Increasing the number of deposition layers reduced the contribution of the substrate to the emission spectra, decreased the shot-to-shot variability in the emission signals, increased the characteristic laser-induced shock velocities, and increased the amount of material blowoff surrounding the laser-material interaction region (thus increasing the intensity and duration of the post-plasma combustion). The optimal number of deposition layers to minimize substrate ablation (and subsequent energy content dilution), enhance the signal-to-noise ratios for sample emission lines, and minimize excess sample blowoff (maximizing the number of shots per printed sample) was four layers.