AbstractIn cylinder tests, the time progression of the radial deflection of metal tubes as a result of fume (detonation products) expansion are measured. The parameters of the relevant, analytical curves obtained can be determined via a fitting process, from which the expansion velocities of the cylinder wall are obtained through differentiation. In conjunction with conservation propositions for the gas flow in cylinders of varying cross‐sections, the course of an expansion process can be calculated iteratively. By taking the JWL curve representation as a basis, the parameters in this context may also be determined by fitting. In this way, the basis for calculation of all types of terminal ballistic data or a splinter picture of the cylinder wall can be given.In the tests, a total of 17 explosives were included with their initial data known from literature, in order to obtain in this way a comparison with those evaluation procedures for cylinder tests which have been in use up to presen