Particle size effects in the initiation of explosives containing reactive and nonreactive continuous phases

Abstract

The shock sensitivity of HMX formulations has been determined using gun-driven wedge tests and multiple manganin pressure gauge tests. Mean HMX particle size was varied from 5{mu}m to 1700{mu}m. Formulations with inert and reactive continuous fluid phases as well as extrusion cast formulations were tested. Both the HMX particle size and nature of the continuous phases were shown to affect the shock sensitivity. Radiometric experiments were also done to help verify the conclusions about reactivity drawn from the wedge and gauge experiments. 16 refs., 22 figs., 4 tabs.