Tetrytols performance

Bursters from 155-mm, M110 mustard agent projectiles are transferred by the PMD burster transfer conveyor to the burster size-reduction machine. This is a baseline-system rocket shear machine (RSM) modified to perform burster size reduction. The M6 bursters from these projectiles are cut into three equal-length sections to reduce the time required to separate/deactivate the tetrytol explosive in the COINS. From the burster size-reduction machine, the burster sections drop into the projectile component discharge hopper, through double blast gates, to the projectile component discharge chute... 

Preliminary results from gas chromatography/mass spectrometry and high-performance liquid chromatography analysis of a solid intermediate recovered from the tetrytol testing identified several energetic compounds, including trinitrobenzoic acid (TNBA) and trinitrobenzene (TNB) (Winkler, 2001). Also, picric acid (PA) was identified in the solid intermediate (personal communication between John Coffey, senior environmental chemist, CH2M Hill, Inc., and Darren Dalton, PMACWA, February 21,2001). 

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