Desensitization of pressed RDX/paraffin and HMX/paraffin compounds by multiple shock waves

Multiple shock initiation of detonation in pressed RDX/paraffin and HMX/paraffin compounds is studied. If the explosive is preshocked by a weak shock wave, the effect of desensitization is observed, which is detectable by two features. First, a weak reaction appears behind the second shock wave. Second, the run to detonation increases by 100% for pressed RDX. Experiments with the samples of pressed RDX show that the run to detonation in preloaded explosive can be estimated from the distance at which the second shock wave overtakes the first weak shock; the run to detonation expected for the second shock wave, from Pop-plot data.