ABSTRACT
We now turn to the nature of explosions other than those caused by TNT or nuclear-type detonation, and the first of these is the accidental explosion of the liquid propellant used in missiles and space rockets. Fully fuelled missiles have been known to fall back onto the launching pad and explode, forming a fireball and causing major structural damage, and it is important to know the factors involved in order to assess structural response. The characteristics of liquid propellant explosions were discussed by Fletcher [3.1], who was a member of the US Manned Spacecraft Center at Flouston in the mid-1960s, and much of what follows is taken from his contribution to the New York Academy of Sciences conference on the prevention of the accidental explosion of hazardous mixtures, held in 1968. He pointed out that liquid propellant explosions occur in two phases, detonation followed by deflagration. The detonation process is limited, soon becomes extinguished, and is rather unsteady. This is in contrast to the detonation of TNT, which as we have seen proceeds through the mass of explosive in an orderly way. The detonation of liquid propellant continues for a longer period and at a lower pressure than that of an equivalent quantity of conventional explosive.
