Detection energetic materials

Explosives. Explosives can be detected usiag either radiation- or vapor-based detection. The aim of both methods is to respond specifically to the properties of the energetic material that distinguish it from harmless material of similar composition. A summary of techniques used is given ia Table 7. These techniques are useful for detecting organic as well as inorganic explosives (see Explosives and propellants). 

Characterization of Energetic Materials, Their Decomposition Products and Their Residues — Progress in the Identification and Detection of Explosives , PATM 2136 (Mar 1974) 69)... 

Endocrine disruptors are nowadays considered among the most important emerging pollutants in wastewater, but they are not actually monitored on-line. A recent study [48] described the implementation of a broad-spectrum analytical scheme for the screening of more than 200 compounds (endocrine disruptors, pharmaceutical compounds,...) in urban wastewater. For other specific organic compounds, a study concerning the improvement of immunoassays with a solid-phase extraction (SPE) membrane was reported for the on-site detection in soils and water of energetic materials (i.e. explosives) [49], but unfortunately it was not really tested for wastewater. 

As was the case with Composition B-4, some energetic materials were detected in the offgases during the addition phase, but none of these persisted throughout the run. No energetic materials were found in the offgases during the postaddition reaction phase. 

The end-of-run hydrolysate analyses provide more useful data on the presence of energetic species, because they are based on a larger homogeneous sample. The end-of-run hydrolysate analyses indicate that, in half of the cases, the level of energetic material had been reduced below the detection limit. The exceptions are listed in Table 2-4. None of these low levels of energetic material pose any explosion hazard, because even slurries with 10 to 30 percent of strong explosives... 

University of Rhode Island Department of Chemistry 51 Lower College Road Kingston, RI, 02881 Ph 401.874.2103 (Dr. J. Oxley) www.chm.uri.edu Chemistry of energetic materials and explosives detection. 

With the availability of small, relatively intense radioisotopic neutron sources, radiation gauging with neutrons has become an important technique in the inspection of energetic materials. Applications have included nondestructive measurement of moisture in expls, determination of charge weight and fill height in sealed ammo cartridges and in detection of concealed expls... 

Examples of the useage of polymethylsilox-ane in energetic materials from the current literature include (in expls) the work of Bowers et al (Ref 19) who investigated the mechanisms involved in impact sensitivity and desensitization of RDX by using an automatic impact— expln detection system to explore the effectiveness of mixing or coating RDX with a series of compds. He found that PDS was third in the order of effectiveness behind n-C16H34 (hexa-decane) and w. Bowers theorizes that liquids... 

Table 2. Detection limits for explosive-related compounds (ERC) and energetic materials (EM)...

R. C. Sausa, V. Swayambunathan and G. Singh, Detection of Energetic Materials by Laser Photofragmentation/Fragment Detection and Pyrolysis/Laser-Induced Fluorescence, ARL-TR-2387, U.S. Army Research Laboratory (2001). 

Selavka CM, Krull IS. 1986. Liquid chromatography with photolysis - electrochemical detection for nitro-based high explosives and water gel formulation sensitizers. J Energetic Material 4 273- 303. 

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