Publications

Diversionary devices such as flashbang grenades are used in a wide variety of military and law-enforcement operations. They function to distract and/or incapacitate adversaries in scenarios ranging from hostage rescue to covert strategic paralysis operations. There are a number of disadvantages associated with currently available diversionary devices. Serious injuries and fatalities have resulted from their use both operationally and in training. Because safety is of paramount importance, desired improvements to these devices include protection against inadvertent initiation, the elimination of the production of high-velocity fragments, less damaging decibel output and increased light output. Sandia National Laboratories has developed a next-generation diversionary flash-bang device that will provide the end user with these enhanced safety features.

The velocity of short duration high-amplitude shock waves and high-speed motion created by sources such as explosives, high energy plasmas and other rapid-acceleration devices are difficult to measure due to their fast reaction times. One measurement tool frequently used is VISAR (Velocity Interferometer System for Any Reflector). VISAR is an optical-based system that utilizes Doppler interferometry techniques to measure the complete time-history of the motion of a surface. This technique is gaining worldwide acceptance as the tool of choice for measurement of shock phenomena. However, one limitation of the single point VISAR is that it measures only one point on a surface. The new Multi Point VISAR remedies the single point VISAR's limitation by using multiple fiber optics and sensors to send and receive information. Upcoming programs that need analysis of large diameter flyers prompted the concept and design of a single cavity-multiple fiber optic Multi Point VISAR (MPV). Preliminary designs and the testing of a single cavity prototype in 1996 supported the theory of compact fiber optic bundle systems for development into the Multi Point VISAR. The new MPV was used to evaluate the performance of two components; a piezo-driven plane wave generating isolator, and a slim-loop ferroelectric (SFE)-type fireset.