Augmented Shock Wave Severance of Materials

This paper describes a new approach for severing or weakening a variety of materials. The technique employs embedding explosive cords into parallel grooves that are cut into a surface of a material. The cords are initiated simultaneously to produce shock waves that progress toward the centerline between the cords and the lower surface of the material. Intersecting incident and reflected waves augment at the centerline to fail or weaken the material in tension. No harmful debris is produced on the opposite side of the material from the explosive cords. The primary focus of the effort described in this paper was to fracture the F-16 aircraft trilaminate canopy. Also, complete severance was achieved in 2024-T4 aluminum plate stock. Possible applications are through canopy egress and crew module severance from military aircraft and separation of rocket vehicle stages and payloads. This approach offers important advantages over explosive methods currently in use.