Chemical tetryl

A detonator, in the form of explosive plates made with tetryl then a screen made of cellulose acetate plates is placed in a wooden container. A 26 mm diameter cylinder full of the substance to be analysed is placed on the screen, and finally a steel plate on top of the cylinder is added. If the substance transmits the detonation, the steel plate will be pierced and not projected. Piercing serves as an indicator of detonation transmission. The number of cellulose acetate disks needed between the sample and the detonator to prevent the detonation from being transmitted is found. Only one is needed for most chemical substances, but with m-dinitrobenzene, 240 are required. 

The chemical structures of some common mifttary explosives are shown in Figure 1. These include the nitrate esters such as nitrocellulose (NC), NG, EGDN, and (PETN) nitroarenes such as trinitrotoluene (TNT, CH3—C6H2(N02)3), picric acid (HO—C5H2(N02)3), and 2,4,6-trinitrophenylmethylnitramine (tetryl) and nitramines such as RDX (C3H6N6O6), HMX (C4H8N8O8), and hexanitrohexa-azaisowurtzitane (CL— 20). Of these, only CL— 20 is new , that is, less than 50 years old [3]. Mixtures of oxidizers and fuels, such as AN and FO (called ANFO), are also secondary explosives. 

Figure 13.9 Microchip-based micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC) electro-pherogram of a mixture of nitroaromatics and nitramines. Analytes 20 ppm of each (1) TNB, (2) DNB, (3) NB, (4) TNT, (5) tetryl, (6) 2,4-DNT, (7) 2,6-DNT, (8) 2-, 3-, and 4-NT, (9) 2-Am-4,6-DNT, (10) 4-Am-2,6-DNT. Conditions MEKC buffer, 50 mM borate, pH 8.5, 50 mM SDS, 5 M Cy7, separation voltage 4 kV, separation distance 65 mm. (Reprinted in part with permission from [37]. Copyright 2000 American Chemical Society.)...

Figure 13.10 Visible absorption spectra for 1 mg/L TNT, TNB, and tetryl in acetoni-trile/methanol [87.5/12.5 (v/v)] containing 2.5 mM NaOH and 1.0 mM SDS. Inlaid are the chemical reactions of TNT, TNB, and tetryl in basic acetonitrile/methanol. (Reprinted from [38] with permission from Elsevier.)...

Fuze, PDM8 is an Army SQ impact fuze used with 4.2-inch chemical cartridges. The complete assembly consists of the fuze proper with an A1 body, its various components, and a seamless steel burster tube. The bursting chge consists of ca 65 g of Tetryl pellets in the burster tube ahd lead cup. The fuze is described in Ref 52k pp 5-12 to 5-15, but a Fig is not given (Also Ref 20a, pp 272-78)... 

WWII. Tetrytols, of which 70/30—Tetryl/TNT, castable mixture is the most important in military applications. It was standardized for use in burster type of chemical shells and in demolition blocks (Ref 64, p 7-72 and Ref 70, pp 341—49)... 

A 4.2 chemical mortar shell was also used for incendiary purposes. It contained a burster charge of Tetryl, placed in thin-walled tubing extending into a cavity in the phosphorous. The Tetryl broke the shell and simultaneously ignited and scattered the burning... 

In spite of being hydrolysed so readily its chemical stability is exceptionally high. Haid, Becker and Dittmar [67] report that dinitrodimethyloxamide, like trinitrotoluene, tetryl and penthrite, does not evolve oxides of nitrogen on being heated at 100°C for 30 days. 

According to Domanski and Mieszkis [73] the rate of detonation, at a density of loading of 0.93 in a paper tube 10 mm dia., is 5200 m/sec (under the same conditions the rate of detonation of penthrite was approximately 6000 m/sec). Cook [58] found the rate of detonation to be 5530 m/sec at a density of loading of 1.0. The substance is similar to tetryl in sensitiveness to impact. Its chemical stability is slightly less than that of tetryl. Its ignition temperature ranges from 165 to 170°C. 

Chemically pure tetryl melts at 129.45°C although for technical purposes a melting point of 128.8 or 128.5°C is acceptable. 

Its chemical properties are very similar to those of tetryl. 

Romburgh [3] was the first to prepare this substance both by nitrating ethyl-aniline and by nitrating diethylaniline. It is comparable to tetryl in its physical and chemical properties. As an explosive it is weaker than tetryl. Its sensitiveness to impact and its explosive power, measured in the lead block, are somewhat greater than those of picric acid. 

Tetryl and butyltetryl are alike in their physical and chemical properties. The latter is notable for its low sensitiveness to impact, very similar to that of trinitrotoluene. Since it is slightly more powerful than trinitrotoluene and at the same time highly sensitive to detonation by mercury fulminate, it was suggested (Davis [72]) for use in detonators, gains (boosters) and other initiating or priming charges. 

Impact Sensitivity — comparable with Tetryl Initiation — 0.4g required 0.19 MF Power by Ballistic Mortar — 76% TNT Power by Trauzl Test 80% TNT Stability, Chemical — unstable decompd by moisture... 

Note All chemical bombs burst above the ground. They are provided with an instantaneous fuze and a bursterisuch as of Tetryl), which is used to rup-rure the bomb case and to release and assist in scattering the filler(R ef 2,p 604)... 

Following are the types of expl material which can be destroyed by burning black powder(qv), smokeless proplnts, TNT, PA, Tetryl, Expl D, pyrotechnic items, small arms ammo, primers, fuzes, detonators, boosters, fragmentation grenades and some chemical ammo... 

Many chemical industries use crystallization techniques at the present time. In the expl industry, nearly all expls, except liquids such as NG, are obtd in crystalline form (PA, Tetryl, TNT, PETN, LA, MF, AN, KClOj, KCl04 others)... 

The ethyl analogue of tetryl was first prepared by van Rom-burgh,101 who procured it both by nitrating monoethylaniline and by nitrating diethylaniline, and reported that it melts at 96°. The present writer has found that the pure material, recrystallized twice from nitric acid (d. 1.42) and once from alcohol, melts at 94°. It is comparable to tetryl in its chemical reactions and in its explosive properties. 

In addition to the ability of certain substances to combine with the products of the decomposition of nitrocellulose, it is possible that the same or other substances may have a positive or a negative catalytic effect and may hasten or retard the decomposition by their presence. But it has not yet been made clear what types of chemical substance hasten the decomposition or why they do so. Nitrogen dioxide hastens it. Pyridine hastens it, and a powder containing 2 or 3% of pyridine will inflame spontaneously if heated for half an hour at 110°. Powders containing tetryl are very unstable, while those containing 10% of trinitronaphthalene (which does- not react with the products of decomposition) are as... 

Closely related to the precise measurement of detonation velocity is the subject of detonation front curvature. Front curvature of Tetryl was examined at the Naval Ordnance Laboratory (NOL) (Refs 31 39). For point-initiated charges of 1.51g/cc, it was found that the radius of curvature of the detonation front increases with charge length in the manner expected for spherical expansion of the front. The radius of curvature is also a function of the chemical nature of the expl, its particle size and its packing density... 

Pushing detection limits of nitroaromatic explosives into the parts per trillion (ppt) level requires sample preconcentration. Collins and coworkers used solid-phase extraction (SPE) of explosives from sea water which was followed by rapid on-chip separation and detection [18]. Explosives were eluted from SPE column by acetonitrile and were injected in the microchip separation channel. Lab-on-a-chip analysis was carried out in nonaqueous medium. The mixed acetonitrile/methanol separation buffer was used to produce the ionized red-colored products of TNT, TNB and tetryl [27,28]. The chemical reaction of the bases (hydroxide and methoxide anions) with trinitroaromatic explosives resulted in negatively charged products, which were readily separated by microchip... 

Fig. 35.3. Chemical reaction of TNT, TNB and tetryl in basic acetonitrile/ methanol. Reprinted with permission from Ref. [18].

Boosters such as RDX (cyclotrimethylenetrinitramine, melting point 204°C, density 1.80), PETN(pentaerythritoltetranitrate, melting point 143°C, density 1.78), and TETRYL (2,4,6-trinitrophenyl methyl nitramine, melting point 129.5°C, density 1.73) are extremely important chemicals. 

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