AbstractThe shock sensitivity of a typical sheet explosive RDX‐WAX (90:10) has been experimentally determined with gap test arrangement by measuring free surface velocity in different thicknesses of the barrier and shock and particle velocity of non‐reactive shock wave in the sheet explosive with Pin Oscillography Technique. It has been found that a shock wave, generated by a point‐initiated cylindrical explosive in contact with an aluminium barrier of diameter nearly twice the diameter of the charge, attenuates exponentially and a 6.5 mm thick sheet explosive, of density 1.28 g/cm3and velocity of detonation 6.43 mm/μs, detonates with 50% probability by a shock wave of 11 kbar pressure in the exp