Explosive properties tetranitromethane

Nitroparaffins. Nitroparaffins, such as nitromethane and tetranitromethane, may also act as constituents of propergols, although there is obviously an essential difference in employing these two substances, resulting from their chemical and explosive properties. 

Until recently only the higher nitrated paraffins were considered to have explosive properties or to be of use in explosive compositions. It was only quite recently that nitromethane was discovered to possess powerful explosive properties, although it requires a strong initiator. Among other nitro compounds tetranitromethane deserves special attention. Due to its high oxygen content it may be considered as an oxygen carrier. 

Tetranitromethane forms very powerful explosive mixtures with combustible substances, for example with nitrobenzene, and toluene. The explosive properties of such mixtures were investigated in detail after an accidental explosion had occurred in Munster University in 1920. 

Naoum [63] gave the following data on the explosive properties of tetranitromethane and of its mixtures. Alone, tetranitromethane gives a lead block expansion of only 40 cm3 including 8 cm3 contributed by the detonator. 

The explosive properties of nitrobenzene-tetranitromethane solutions were examined in detail by Roth [62] who measured rates of detonation power (on a 10.5 by 7 mm crusher gauge), and sensitiveness to impact, using nitroglycerine and TNT as standards (Table 129). Lead block expansions are not included here as they were not determined by standard methods. 

Fedorov et al. [6] had studied explosive properties of tetranitromethane and nitrobenzene explosive mixture with different proportions in detail. The experiment results were listed in Table 3.3. 

The compound (of zero oxygen balance) is a powerful explosive, as is pentan-itrobenzene. As a nitrocarbon, it has similar properties to tetranitromethane and hexanitroethane. 

Owing to these properties a mixture of tetranitromethane with paraffin is preferable to mixtures containing other oxidizing agents. The explosive decomposition of the tetranitromethane mixtures with petroleum hydrocarbons in stoichiometric... 

There is an increasing interest in tetranitromethane as a source of energy rich explosives and this is manifested by a number of papers related to the physical and chemical properties of the compounds. An excellent review on TNM was given by Altukhov and Perckalin 1156. ... 

Mixtures of aluminimn powder with liquid chlorine, dinitrogen tetraoxide or tetranitromethane are detonable explosives, but not as powerful as aluminimn-liquid oxygen mixtmes, some of which exceed TNT in effect by a factor of 3 to 4 [1]. Mixtmes of the powdered metal and various bromates may explode on impact, heating or friction. Iodates and chlorates act similarly [2]. Detonation properties of gelled slurries of almninium powder in aqueous nitrate or perchlorate salt solutions have been studied [3]. Reactions of almninimn powder with potassium chlorate or potassimn perchlorate have been studied by thermal analysis [4]. 

Tetranitromethane is of explosion whose oxygen balance is 49 % with explosion heat of 1,892 J/g. The pure tetranitromethane is of poor sensitivity that cannot be detonated by even 10 g special as booster. However, it is violently explosive when it is mixed with combustible material at almost zero oxygen balance, and it has a small critical diameter (thickness) and significant detonation and shock sensitivity. Such explosives are generally prepared when they are needed and the quantity addresses the requirement exactly regarding the safety considerations. Table 7.14 lists the detonation properties of tetranitromethane and certain combustible compounds at zero oxygen balance. 

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