TY - CONF A1 - Agasty, Amit A1 - Costard, René A1 - Schwarz, Silke T1 - Application of underwater tests to determine he-equivalents of pyrotechnic substances N2 - A technical-safety evaluation of the detonation effects of pyrotechnic compositions can be performed on the basis of TNT/PETN equivalence. The equivalence determination can be carried out by characterization of the blast wave generated because of detonation in free field tests, which however can be highly resource intensive and prone to uncertainties. Here, we present underwater ‘small-scale’ experiments for the determination of such equivalents. Underwater experiments, as described in the European standard EN 13763-15:2004, are performed to test the capability of detonators to initiate secondary explosives by determining the released energy. At BAM this test was modified to compare the energy output of the pyrotechnic mixtures (those used in air bag gas generators and firework flash compositions) and thus to determine their equivalents of high explosives like TNT or PETN. In the modified tests, small cylindrical copper containers were filled with pyrotechnic substances, which were then attached to standard detonators. This explosive charge assembly was then lowered into a water tank of about 1000 l capacity. At the same depth as the charge assembly, a piezoelectric pressure sensor was immersed in the water at a horizontal distance of about 400 mm from the charge. By recording the time-dependent pressure during the test, the shock energy as well as the energy associated with the expanding gas bubble were determined. T2 - 26th International Symposium on Military Aspects of Blast and Shock (MABS26) CY - Wollongong, Australia DA - 03.12.2023 KW - Underwater Tests KW - TNT/PETN - Equivalent PY - 2023 AN - OPUS4-58928 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -