On driving bodies separated by plane layers of explosive

The study deals with a multi-stage system (several pistons separated by layers of explosive), taking into account the wave processes occurring in the explosive and the post-explosion gas. A numerical solution of the problem is obtained using the method of characteristics and Godunov's difference scheme (1976). It is shown that by the appropriate selection of piston mass, the speed of the last piston may be increased to its maximum. The numerical analysis shows that wave phenomena in explosive gases may be neglected in the case of heavy pistons, but should be taken into account when calculating the parameters of motion of the pistons with a relatively small mass.