Energy distribution in the blast fragmentation process

The study of energy distribution in a blast fragmentation process is the subject of active research. The complexity of the phenomena and the high intensity and speed of some of the physical processes occurring during an explosion such as high pressures and temperatures make measuring of the energy distribution a very difficult task. Because of the limitation of current technologies to measure the actual energy released in an explosion, the assessment of energy distribution is done considering the balance between the ideal energy stored in the explosive and the effects of the released energy in the surrounding media. To study the ideal amount of energy in the explosive, it is necessary to use thermophysics and thermodynamic principles, while the effects in the surrounding media are explained using materials deformation theories, material fracture models, and dynamics. This chapter will review the basic principles behind the assessment of the ideal energy in the explosives and discuss the most accepted theories about the distribution of the energy in the surrounding media when an explosion takes place.