ESD 2008A small-scale electrostatic spark sensitivity test

Electrostatic discharge is one of the most frequent and the least characterized cause of accidental explosions of energetic materials. To have reliable data on electrostatic spark sensitiveness of energetic materials is thus critical imperative in their R&D, manufacture, processing, loading or demilitarization.

Small-scale electrostatic spark tester ESD 2008A is one of the very few available instruments of this type. It allows a user to precisely measure both total spark energy discharged into the sample and a fraction of this energy really absorbed by the sample initiating its explosion. This feature allows one to determine the true minimum energy sufficient for accidental initiation of the sample, and thus allowing erring on the side of caution when applying the results for any real-world scenario.

Tester ESD 2008 EN can load the sample with very wide range of spark energies – from 25 μJ to 17.5 J – allowing testing all categories of energetic materials ranging from extremely sensitive primary explosives to insensitive high explosives. Input energy and the fraction of the energy consumed by the sample are measured by high voltage sensors connected with oscilloscope and analyzed by special software in the operator’s PC. Discharge duration can be varied, allowing testing of the samples in modes incorporating different profiles of the spark (shock wave or thermal initiation mechanisms by the spark).

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