Propellants detonation

Cachia, G. P. und Withebread, E. G. The Initiation of Explosives by Shock, Proc. Roy. Soc. A 246, 268-273 (1958). Card-Gap Test for Shock Sensitivity of Liquid Monopropellant, Test Nr. 1, Recommended by the JANAF Panel on Liquid Monopropellant Test Methods, March 1960 Amster, A. B., Noonan, E. C. und Bryan, G. J. Solid Propellant Detonability, ARS-Journal 30, 960-964 (1960)... 

Solid Propellants II. Sensitivity of Some Double-Base and Composite Propellants , NavOrdRept 6222(1958) (Conf) (Not used as a source of info) 3a) Ibid, "Solid Propellant Detonability , ARS-J 30, 960-64(1960) 4) S. Wach-... 

Detonation (and Explosion), Induction Period in Initiation of Explosives and Propellants "Detonation (and Explosion), Initiation (Birth) and Propagation (Growth or Spread) in Explosive Substances ... 

As mentioned in Vol. 111. composite propellant detonate with difficulty because of their non-porous texture and very high density. 

As shown in the section on nonideal explosives, propellants containing HMX and ammonium perchlorate can exhibit nearly ideal detonation performance with small amounts of ammonium perchlorate. With increasing percentages of ammonium perchlorate, the propellants detonate at detonation velocities and C-J pressures which are less than the ideal explosive performance. As the HMX concentration is decreased and the ammonium perchlorate concentration is increased, the propellants will fail to support propagating detonation. 

Propellants. Explosives which burn at a steady speed and can be detonated only under extreme conditions. 

Propellants and explosives are chemical compounds or mixtures that rapidly produce large volumes of hot gases when properly initiated. Propellants bum at relatively low rates measured in centimeters per second explosives detonate at rates of kilometers per second. Pyrotechnic materials evolve large amounts of heat but much less gas than propellants and explosives (see Pyrotechnics). 

A comparison of the characteristics associated with propellant burning, explosive detonation, and the performance of conventional fuels (see Coal Gas, NATURAL Petroleum) is shown ia Table 1. The most notable difference is the rate at which energy is evolved. The energy Hberated by explosives and propellants depends on the thermochemical properties of the reactants. As a rough rule of thumb, these materials yield about 1000 cm of gas and 4.2 kj (1000 cal) of heat per gram of material. 

Exothermic oxidation—reduction reactions provide the energy released in both propellant burning and explosive detonation. The reactions are either internal oxidation—reductions, as in the decomposition of nitroglycerin and pentaerythritol tetranitrate, or reactions between discrete oxidizers and fuels in heterogeneous mixtures. 

W. A. Blaine and co-workers, "Detonation Characteristics of Gun Propellants," preprints of 9th Symposium (International) on Detonation, Portiand, Oreg., Aug. 1989, p. 233. 

S. Wachtel, "Prediction of Detonation Ha2ards in SoHd Propellants," in Proceedings of the 145th National Meeting of the Division of Fuel Chemisty, New York, 1963. 

Alternatives to Open Burning Open Detonation of Propellants andExplosives, CPIA PubHcation 540, CPIA, Laurel, Md., Mar. 1990. 

R. Thorpe and W. R. FearheUer, "Development of Processes for ReHable Detonator Grade Very Fiae Explosive Powder," ia Proceedings of Joint International Symposium on Compatibility of Plastics and other Materials with Explosives, Propellants, Pyrotechnics, AD PA, New Orleans, La., Apr. 1988. 

R. K. Jackson and co-workers, "Initiation and Detonation Characteristics of TATB," in Proceedings of Symposium on Compatibility of Plastics and Other Materials with Explosives, Propellants, and Pyrotechnics, ADPA, Washington, D.C., 1976. 

Annual Proceedings of the Safety Seminars, Dept, of Defense, Explosive Safety Board, Washington, D.C. International symposia on explosives and closely related subjects are excellent sources of information, ie, international symposia on detonation symposia on combustion symposia on chemical problems connected with the stabiUty of explosives international pyrotechnics seminars symposia on compatibiUty of plastics and other materials with explosives, propellants, and pyrotechnics, and processing of explosives, propellants, and ingredients and symposia on explosives and pyrotechnics Mineral Industy Surveys, U.S. Bureau of Mines, Pittsburgh, Pa. Periodic pubhcations dedicated primarily to explosive studies in Propellants and Explosives Journal of Ha yardous Materials, and apparent consumption of industrial explosives and blasting agents in the United States. 

The rolling operations that foUow take place first on hot (95°C) differential-speed roUs which dry and coUoid the paste and convert it iato sheet form, and then on even-speed roUs which produce smoothly surfaced propellant sheets ia which all iagredients have been uniformly iacorporated. The roU gap ia the differeatial roUs is adjustable to produce sheets of various thicknesses, and rolling is continued until the moisture is reduced to a predetermined level, usually less than 0.5%. The sheet is then cut off the roU. Differential rolling is potentially hazardous, and fires are not uncommon, although detonations are not apt to occur. Operations are conducted by remote control. 

J. E. Kincaid, The Determination of the Propensity for Detonation of High Peformance Propellants, CPTR-6, CPIA Publication 334, CPIA Publications, Johns Hopkins University, Laurel, Md., Eeb. 1981. 

Explosives. The pressure, P, generated by the detonating explosive that propels the prime plate is direcdy proportional to its density, p, and the square of the detonation velocity, (25) ... 

When used in blasting, ammonium nitrate is mixed with fuel oil and sometimes sensitizers such as powdered aluminum. Lower density ammonium nitrate is preferred for explosive formulation, because it absorbs the oil more effectively. When detonated,these mixtures have an explosive power of 40 to 50% that of TNT (see Explosives and propellants). 

Secondary detonating explosive substance or black powder or article containing a secondary detonating explosive substance, in each case without means of initiation and without a propelling charge, or article containing a primary explosive substance and containing two or more independent safety features D... 

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