The design and use of an explosion metrology system

Since the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centre, western governments and their military advisors have been forced to re-evaluate engagement strategies, and reconsider the weaponry necessary to support such strategies. Bombs that provide the "biggest bang for the buck" are arguably inappropriate for tackling close-hand skirmishes, minimising civilian deaths and reducing infrastructural damage. As a result there is a need to develop explosive devices capable of delivering a targeted and metered explosion of sufficient potency to neutralise no more than the threat. The development of such devices requires knowledge of the threat, the design of an explosive capable of neutralising the threat and a means of assessing the efficacy of conditions created by the explosion to eliminate the threat. The assessment of the explosion and the environment it creates requires appropriate instrumentation. This paper describes the design and development of an explosion metrology system capable of sampling data from the target of an explosion. The work was commissioned by the Office of Naval Research(London) and the Defence Threat Reduction Agency (Washington D.C.).