The study of ignition, deflagration, and detonation processes in energetic materials is key for improving their safety and effectiveness.  New techniques and are needed to study a variety of materials, including solid rocket propellants, pyrotechnic ignitors, explosive bridgewires, and multiphase detonation fuels.  Diagnostic tools used to study these materials and include digital holography, distortion-cancelling holography, imaging pyrometry, emission spectroscopy, absorption spectroscopy, and many other techniques.  These methods are designed to help us understand particle properties (such as size, velocity, & temperature) as well as gas properties (such as species, temperature, & pressure) for characterizing and improving the performance of these materials.

Research groups working in this area:

• Prof. Mazumdar
• Prof. Menon