On the mechanism of ignition of condensed secondary explosives by a laser pulse

A mechanism of laser ignition of secondary HE is proposed which takes into account the strength characteristics of the material. The formation of microcracks upon heating of an optical microinhomogeneity is considered to be responsible for failure of the ignition process of HE. Using PETN as an example, it is shown that the calculation results agree quantitatively with experimental results on the ignition of secondary HE loaded with external pressure.