Explosively driven blast shutter for diagnostic protection

Summary form only given. Phillips Laboratory has developed a fast closing shutter designed to protect diagnostics or other devices from damage due to plasma and solid debris subsequent to exposure to high energy transient events such as PL´s solid liner working fluid compression geometry. The device uses a cartridge brass (alloy C26000) tube with a 0.8 cm diameter biconic orifice which is crimped shut in 15 /spl mu/s after a 60 /spl mu/s delay. The crimping is accomplished by the simultaneous impact of two opposing 3 g Titanium slugs each propelled by a Reynolds, Inc. RPI Electronic Bridge Wire detonator. The crimp forms a high vacuum seal with a leak rate with an established upper bound of 10/sup -9/ l/s STP air. The assembly is contained by a reusable 14 cm by 14 cm by 5 cm heat treated chrome molybdenum steel casing. The only expendables are the tube, the RP1´s, and two 2 g steel disks which buffer the Ti slugs from the RP1´s with a total cost of about $400.