Classification of explosives

Explosives were originally classified into two main types low and high. This classification was based on the relative detonation speeds and the pressures produced by these reactions. Low explosives bum very rapidly and generate pressures below 50,000 psi. However, high explosives produce pressures of 5 million psi. The detonation rate of explosives has been characterized by comparing it with the speed of sound. High explosives are faster than the speed of sound, whereas low explosives detonate at a lower rate than the speed of sound. This classification is of limited use in this century and thus explosives have been classified in relation to their chemical nature and to their performance. The explosives have been divided into three classes (Fig. 12.2) [4, 5]  

EGDN Ethylene glycol dinitrate O2NOH2C—CH2ONO2 CH2ONO2 H3C—i—CH2ONO2 

BTTN Butane-1,2,4-triol trinitrate 1 O2NOH2C—CH—CH2—CH2ONO2 

These explosives are also divided into two other groups based on the chemical nature of the materials [4, 5]. 

Explosives are compounds that have functions of groups that have explosive properties. The most common functional groups, both oxidizer 

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Restriction on the classification of explosive that can be transported and how, including the need for sheet steel spark-guards for carnage of certain explosives. 

The following discussion is taken from Ref 9, published under the title Classification of Explosives ... 

A.H. Lasseigne, "Hazard Classification of Explosives for Transportation. Evaluation of... 

The transport of explosives is covered strictly by regulation and this is becoming increasingly international in character. A committee of the United Nations Organisation has produced an improved classification of explosives and specified agreed methods of packing suited to each item. These proposals now form the basis of the conditions of transport by air... 

King, P. V., and A. H. Lasseigne, "Hazard Classification of Explosives for Transportation Evaluation Test Methods, Hazard Evaluation, Research, and Engineering," Report No. TSA-20-72-5, prepared for U. S. Dept, of Transportation (1972) (available from NTIS, Springfield, VA). 

Dale, C. B., "Hazard Classification of Explosives for Transportation—Non-solid Explosives Phase III," Naval Ordnance Station, Report No. DOT/RSPA/MTB-78/2 (1978). 

Larson, S. L., Jones, R. P., Escalon, L., and Parker, D., 1999, Classification of explosives transformation products in plant tissue, Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 18 1270-1276. 

All the terms discussed so far try to classify an explosive from its physical or explosive properties. The classification of explosives from a chemical viewpoint is of course more relevant to this book. Explosives can be classified according to the functionality they contain, and in particularly, the functional groups that impart explosive properties to a compound. Piets (Zh. Obshch. Khim., 1953, 5, 173) divided explosives into the following eight classes depending on the groups they contained each group is known as an explosophore . 

Table XI entitled "Classification of Explosives with Respect to Hazard From Electric Sparks . Dangerous expls are BkPdr, DADNPh, EC Powder, Expl D , LA.LSt, MF, Tetracene, Tetryl, Tetrytol Ungraphited Smokeless Propint. Non-... 

The classification of explosives is depicted in Figure 1.1 and their brief description is outlined below ... 

Figure 1.1 (a) Classification of explosives (according to their end-use), (b) Classification of explosives... 

Table 6.1 UN Scheme of Classification of Explosives (Combination of Hazard Division and Compatibility Croup).

Classification of explosives has been undertaken by many scientists throughout this century, and explosives have been classified with respect to their chemical nature and to their performance and uses. Chemical explosives can be divided into two groups depending on their chemical nature those that are classed as substances which are explosive, and those that are explosive mixtures such as blackpowder. 

Table 2.1 Classification of explosive substances by their molecular groups...

Figure 7.1 Classification of explosive composition by nitration reaction...

NOTE Apparently the same Ref as Ref 42 47) G.T. West, Classification of Explosives. Period Covered April-June 1976", MHSMP-76-30 K, Mason Hanger, , Amarillo. Con-... 

A further step in the classification of explosives was made by Lothrop and Handrick [3]. They collected and classified all the available information on the performance of explosives and related it to four factors oxygen balance, ploso-phoric groups, auxoplosive groups, heat of explosion. 

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