Calculation of the Translucence Zone during Explosion of Thermal Charges in the Cloudy Environment

Kh. M. Kalov and R. Kh. Kalov

It is known that the cloud of expanding explosive gases is formed in the air during the explosion of the charge. This cloud takes a regular spherical shape at a certain distance from the charge, and expanding gases start the eddy-like mixing with the ambient air due to turbulent diffusion and the Richtmyer–Meshkov instability mechanism. The pattern of charge explosion in a cloudy environment does not differ much from the pattern of explosion in the free (cloudless) atmosphere: pressure and temperature jumps in the shock wave at different distances from the center of explosion are almost the same as during the explosion in the free atmosphere. However, the microstructure of the cloudy environment may considerably change during explosion in a cloud. These changes are mainly connected with the evaporation of globules in the shock wave and in the field of emission of explosive gases heated up to high temperature. These two factors may cause the formation of the translucence zone which is generally spherical. Its radius depends on the charge power and on the water content of the cloudy environment where the charge is exploded. The present paper deals with the calculation of linear dimensions of translucence zones formed by the explosion of the charge with a given power in the cloudy environment.