• asimmetria
• asymmetry
• detonation
• detonazione
• directional
• direzionale
• esplosivo
• explosive

In this work the use of inertial confinement techniques for real-time directional control of the kinetic energy distribution in explosive-driven masses is investigated.

The possibility of focusing the energy of an explosion in order to improve its effectiveness is well-known and exploited, both for military and civil applications (such as, for example, shaped charges). It must be noted that current solutions are typically optimized to achieve a predetermined energy distribution.

There is a demand, in the military field, for solutions that can improve energy focusing and reduce collateral damage in precision applications, such as anti-ballistic and anti-aircraft or close-range missile warheads. In this case it is extremely important to be able to engage the target from different directions, as the angle of intercept is often unknown until the target is very close.

In the past, mechanical solutions have been designed in order to aim a directional warhead at a specified direction; however, these systems tend to have long response times and to be heavy, complex and unreliable.
An inertial confinement technique that allows to achieve significant directional control from a symmetrical warhead configuration would provide fast response times for critical applications such as missile-missile or missile-projectile intercept, and to obtain a simple, reliable design with no moving parts.

This study consists of an analytic and numerical investigation of the possibility of achieving asymmetrical acceleration of external masses with the detonation of explosive materials in symmetrical configurations. The concepts obtained from a one-dimensional analysis of the phenomenon are extended to a simple three-dimensional test configuration, where different actuation strategies are compared numerically. A design method that enables simple design of new warhead configurations is proposed; it is compared with basic inertial confinement techniques and it is shown that a significant increase in kinetic energy along a selected direction can be achieved.