The contour variable ALPHA is used to label the state of explosives. At cycle zero, AUTODYN calculates the burn time of each element filled with an explosive material. The burn time is stored in ALPHA with a negative sign. You can view the contour plot of ALPHA (burn time) by running the model in Autodyn Component System and interrupt the run at cycle zero. When time reaches the burn time of the explosive element, the element starts to burn and ALPHA is used to store the burn fraction of the explosive, which is a positive number. The burn fraction is the ratio of the time that an element has already burned and the time to burn the element completely. ALPHA ranges from zero (starts burning) to one (complete burn). The burn fraction of explosive can be checked by viewing a contour plot of ALPHA. When ALPHA = 1.0, the explosive element has been completely burned and detonated.