Estimation of the explosive mass based on the surface explosion crater on asphalt

Abstract

In the course of court trials and for the purpose of legal proceedings, forensic engineers often produce estimations of the explosive mass based on the explosion effect using empirical formulas. This paper describes experimental surface explosions of variable mass of known explosive charge on the asphalt with the objective to make correlations between causes and consequences of an explosion. Dimensions of the resulting craters were measured and an overview of experimental tests and reliability of nine equations for calculating the mass of explosive based on the dimensions of the craters is given. The asphalt surfaces were chosen since the highest number of explosions, which are the results of terrorist or some other criminal acts, occur in urban conditions where asphalt is the dominant surface. Based on the given overview it is possible to give an evaluation of equation's reliability for explosive mass less than 1kg. The paper also gives the proposition of the new equations for preliminary estimation of explosive charge mass based on volume of the crater resulting from the surface explosion on asphalt.