Explosives Amatol

Extruders are devices for loading by extrusion (qv) metals, plastics, expls and pyrotechnic compositions. For example, expls such as some Amatols, Explosive D, Compositions A C, etc which cannot be cast-loaded can be loaded by pressing them thru a steel tube by means of a worm screw working inside. 

AN is also an ingredient in slurry type explosives, which are mixtures of AN, dynamite (TNT), water and aluminum. They are available as gels or with the consistency of thick soup. They can be used in open pit and underground mines as well as water-filled bore holes. Amatol explosives - mixtures of AN and TNT - have low sensitivity, and can be cast, pressed or granulated -depending on the ratios of the ingredients240. 

Comparison of High Explosives Containing Aluminum with Amatol and TNT , BRL-MR-211 (Sept 1943) 8) Anon, The Use of Secondary... 

TNT contains insufficient oxygen to give complete combustion of the carbon on detonation. It can, therefore, usefully be mixed with ammonium nitrate, which has an excess of oxygen. The resulting explosives, known as amatols, are more powerful and cheaper than TNT itself, but in general have a lower velocity of detonation. A proportion of 60% ammonium nitrate is perhaps the commonest of these compositions. 

Until the end of the First World War the main filling for mass ordnance was TNT and its mixtures with ammonium nitrate known as Amatols. During this period improved methods for the manufacture of RDX enabled its inclusion in munitions, usually in formulation with TNT in the form of the Cyclotols. RDX and its mixtures are still the most widely used explosives for military use. 

Dr Price mentions on p 694 that the work on relationship betw density and diameter was done in Russia (mostly on AN explosives) as early as 1945 (Ref 1). It was stated that "some pure explosives possess the capacity for a stable detonation only under the condition that their density does not exceed a certain limiting value". In later Rus works, such as of Blinov, Bobolev, etc, not only behavior of AN expls but also of DNT DNPhenol were briefly described in the book of Andreev Belyaev (Ref 4). Among the expls described, the 50/50 Amatol draws particular attention because its behavior seems to differ from those of group 1 or 2 (Ref 17, p 696)... 

Hackh McLeod Explosive. A preliminary investigation of the effect on the explosion props of 50/50 Amatol of incorporating with it Nitronaphthalene benzaldehyde, in accordance with a process set forth in the patent application of Messrs Hackh McLeod, showed conclusively that the addn of 10% alpha Nitronaphthalene ( catalyst ) 2% benzaldehyde ( promoter ) renders the Amatol less sensitive to friction, less bfisant, and undesirably insensitive to initiation to detonation... 

In order to prevent any hot gas from contacting the explosive charge (in the event that any porosity exists in the shell base) a thin steel disc is welded or brazed to the shell base ( base cover ). The shell is filled with high explosive (TNT, Amatol, Pentolite etc), leaving a cylindrical cavity at the upper part for a booster charge. The neck of the shell is threaded inside... 

Amatol, but was sensitive to bullet impact and was rendered very insensitive by compression. Its high mp (about 160°) made loading of shells or bombs by casting or extrusion impracticable, therefore the expl was thought to offer no particular promise Ref J.D. Hopper, Study Ammonium Nitrate Explosive Received from Kelbar Powder Company , PATR 1009 (Oct 1939)... 

Secondary high explosive. Mixture of TNT and Ammonium nitrate. Military explosive Amatol... 

Explosive Compositions are mixtures of explosive and non-explosive substances. They are listed in this Encycl as individual items such.e.s Amatols, Ammonals, Ammonium Nitrate Blasting Explosives, Black Powder, Compositions A, B, C D, Cyclonites, Dynamites and as Explosive Compositions listed-further in this Vol. (See also Composite Propellants described in Vol 3, pp C464 to C473)... 

Chap XIII (Amatol) Chap XIV, Pt 1 (Picric Acid) Chap XIV, Pt 2 (Ammonium Picrate) Chap XV (Nitrostarch Explosives) Chap XVI, Pt 1 Pt 2 (Tetryl) Chap XVII (Black Powder) Chap XVIII (Primers and detonators)... 

Noninitiating Explosives, General Tests (1347) Auxiliary Tests for Specific Materials RDX, Composition A-3, Comp B, Comp C, Torpex, Tritonal, Amatol, Ammonal (1347 1349). Colorimetric tests for some expls are on p 1348... 

Materials which are usually extruded include some soft metals (lead, dn, copper, brass, aluminum, magnesium and various alloys) rubber, soaps, ceramics, foods, plastics, Dynamites, Explosives (like Amatol... 

Polysulfide polymers Polysulfide polymers increase the reactivity of some explosives and propellants. They are not compatible with PETN, Pentolite, Composition B, Amatol or Tetryltol. Polysulfide rubbers absorb some NG from DB and triple-base ( ) propellants. However, some propellants show little or no reactivity in the presence of polysulfides. 

Between World War I and II, TNT replaced picric acid as the explosive of choice in munitions. It was also mixed with other compounds to produce more powerful explosives with unique characteristics. Amatol is a mixture containing between 40% and 80% ammonium nitrate and TNT. Pentolite is a mixture of PETN (pentaerythritol tetranitrate) and TNT. Another common explosive mixture is RDX (cyclotrimethylenetrinitramine) and TNT. RDX is an abbreviation for Royal Demolition Explosive. 

During World War II Amatols of increased explosive power, in which a part of the ammonium nitrate was replaced by cyclonite, were also used. Thus German Ammonals were evolved from Amatol 50/50. Dinitrobenzene was used in Amatols 39a and 40 (Table 50) as a substitute for TNT. 

The following HE s, cased or uncased, may be machined w/o protection being afforded the operator w/o coolant a) Amatol b) Black Powder (in components only) c) Composition B d) Explosive D and e) TM T... 

The following explosives also belong to Ersatzsprengstoffe Amatol, Ammonal, Ammonit, Dl-Salz, Fillers Nos 13, 13a, 13 113, 19, 20, 52, 56, 57 or Abonachit), 60, 61, 64, 70, 84, and 88, Formit, HDD, Man-Salz, Myrol, PH-Salz, Tetanspreng-stoffe (TeNMe explosives), Tetramethyl-... 

Standard explosive for World War I. Production limited by availability of toluene from coal tar. To relieve shortage, TNT was mixed with ammonium nitrate to give amatols, and aluminium to produce tritonals. 

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