Instrumentation techniques for monitoring shock and detonation waves

CORRTEX (Continuous Reflectometry for Radius Versus Time Experiments), SLIFER (Shorted Location Indication by Frequency of Electrical Resonance), and pin probes were used to monitor several conditions of blasting such as the detonation velocity of the explosive, the functioning of the stemming column confining the explosive, and rock mass motion. CORRTEX is a passive device that employs time-domain reflectometry to interrogate the two-way transit time of a coaxial cable. SLIFER is an active device that monitors the changing frequency resulting from a change in length of a coaxial cable forming an element of an oscillator circuit. Pin probes in this application consist of RG-174 coaxial cables, each with an open circuit, placed at several known locations within the material. Each cable is connected to a pulse-forming network and a voltage source. When the cables are shorted by the advancing wave, time-distance data are produced from which a velocity can be computed. Each technique, installation of the gauge, examples of the signals, and interpretation of the records are described.