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A study of the effect of high explosive composition formulations on
fragmentation characteristics of naturally fragmenting explosive fragmentation
munitions had been conducted. The assessment of the fragment mass distribution
of tested charges was accomplished using arena test and sawdust fragment
recovery experimentation. The analytical assessment of the fragmentation
parameters was performed employing the PAFRAG (Picatinny Arsenal
Fragmentation) modeling methodology which links three-dimensional axial
symmetric high-strain high-strain-rate hydrocode analyses with a
phenomenological fragmentation model based on the Mott’s theory of break-up of
ideal cylindrical “ring-bombs”. The studied high explosive compositions
included a series of formulations with varying Chapman-Jouguet detonation
pressure levels. The fragment mass distribution parameters had been determined
to be a strong function of the detonation properties of the explosives. The
PAFRAG modeling analysis has been shown to accurately reproduce available
experimental fragmentation data.