This paper describes the results of shock pressure measurements in the range of 1–25 MPa in water and in the range of 60–500 kPa in air. Pressure pulses were generated by exploding wire technique and measured with a quartz piezo-electric transducer. The attenuation with distance of shock overpressure, impulse and energy in shock front has been studied. Experimental data on shock attenuation in air is scarce and the results presented here confirm the attenuation behaviour derived from theoretical considerations.

Piezoelectric transducers for dynamic overpressure measurements are commonly calibrated with static or quasistatic loads and the calibration is extrapolated to frequencies up to 30% of the resonant frequency of the piezoelectric crystal. Sinusoidal pressure generators are also used for dynamic calibration up to 500 Hz in the range of 3 MPa. This paper describes a method for dynamic calibration using transient overpressures, with rise time of 2 µsec and width 40 µsec, generated by exploding wires in air. The calibration is done in the range of 600 kPa.