Development of a large-diameter gas gun for studies of gage validation and dynamic material properties
A large diameter gas gun has been developed which fires a 4-ft diameter, 3,200 lb projectile downward at velocities up to 230 ft/sec. The impact of the projectile onto geologic or other material specimens beneath the gun provides precise shock environments for shock physics studies, especially the evaluation and validation of ground-motion instruments, and the development of dynamic material properties data for large specimens. This thesis describes the operating principle of the gun. A mathematical model of the gun is developed and compared with experiment results. Predictions of nuisance effects associated with testing, e.g., far-field ground motion and airblast, are compared with experiment results. Descriptions of target construction and testing procedures are given. Examples of stress and ground-motion data collected in sand targets are presented, as well as typical data-analysis procedures.
University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign
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University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign