Adiabatic Sensitivity of Explosives

The adiabatic sensitivity of an explosive is determined by allowing a test weight to fall from a predetermined height onto the air-compressing piston. This causes the compression of the air between the compressing piston and the sample of the explosive. Its adiabatic heating may consequently lead to the initiation of the sample. 

DROP WEIGHT COMPRESSING PISTON SAMPLE HOLDER MACHINE SAMPLE HOLDER 

The adiabatic sensitivity value is the height of the drop weight at wiiich 50% of trials result in the initiation of the explosive. 

One possible way of finding out this particular drop height is to start from the maximum height. Then, if the initiation of the sample occurs in the first trial, the height is lowered for the increment for which the logarithmic value, if expressed in cm, is 0.05 (Table 2.2). For each subsequent trial, if the initiation 

If the total number of initiations is lower than the number of noninitiations, the height of the drop weight at vdiich 50% of initiations occur is calculated according to the equation 

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