Laser Illumination for High Speed Photography of Explosive Events

The proposed Phase I effort will establish the feasibility of laser illuminated high speed photography of large scale explosive events for utilization during operational field tests. Recent advances in laser systems suggest that short pulses (<50 ns) with high energy are now available to discriminate against background radiation and when coupled to commercially available camera systems will enable complex transient events to be photographed without blurring. This Phase I program will evaluate the current technology in use, analyze the light transmission characteristics and emission spectra of the detonation products and shocked air for various explosive events using non-equilibrium chemistry codes, and determine parametric system requirements. In addition the materials needed for a low risk, highly robust prototype system will be identified. This system would be fabricated in a Phase II program and evaluated during operational testing at the 46th Test Wing, Eglin AFB.