Effect of metal powders on explosion of fuel-air explosives with delayed secondary igniters

In order to improve the energy level of fuel air explosive(FAE) with delayed secondary igniters, high energetic metal powders were added to liquid fuels mainly composed of ether and isopropyl nitrate. Metal powders' explosive properties and reaction mechanisms in FAE were studied by high-speed video, pressure test system, and infrared thermal imager. The results show that compared with pure liquid fuels, the shock wave overpressure, maximum surface fireball temperature and high temperature duration of the mixture were significantly increased after adding high energetic metal powder. The overpressure values of the liquid-solid mixture at all measuring points were higher than that of the pure liquid fuels. And the maximum temperature of the fireball was up to 1700 ℃, which was higher than that of the pure liquid fuels. After replacing 30％of aluminum powder with boron or magnesium hydride, the shock wave pressure of the mixture was further increased. The high heat of combustion of boron and the hydrogen released by magnesium hydride could effectively increase the blast effect of the mixture. The improvement of the explosion performance of boron was better than magnesium hydride. It shows that adding high energetic metal powder to liquid fuels can effectively improve the explosion performance of FAE.     

Hazard evaluation of ignition sensitivity and explosion severity for three typical MH2 (M＝Mg,Ti, Zr) of energetic materials

MgH2, TiH2, and ZrH2 are three typical metal hydrides that have been gradually applied to composite explosives and propellants as additives in recent years. To evaluate ignition sensitivity and explosion severity, the Hartmann device and spherical pressure vessel were used to test ignition energy and ex-plosion pressure, respectively. The results showed that the ignition sensitivity of ZrH2, TiH2 and MgH2 gradually increased. When the concentration of MgH2 is 83.0 g/m3 in Hartmann device, the ignition energy attained a minimum of 10.0 mJ. The explosion pressure of MgH2 were 1.44 times and 1.76 times that of TiH2 and ZrH2, respectively, and the explosion pressure rising rate were 3.97 times and 9.96 times that of TiH2 and ZrH2, respectively, through the spherical pressure vessel. It indicated that the reaction reactivity and reaction rate of MgH2 were higher than that of TiH2 and ZrH2. In addition, to conduct in-depth theoretical analysis of ignition sensitivity and explosion severity, gas production and combus-tion heat per unit mass of ZrH2, TiH2 and MgH2 were tested by mercury manometer and oxygen bomb calorimetry. The experimental results revealed that MgH2 had a relatively high gas production per unit mass (5.15 mL/g), while TiH2 and ZrH2 both had a gas production of less than 2.0 mL/g. Their thermal stability gradually increased, leading to a gradual increase in ignition energy. Furthermore, compared with theoretical combustion heat, the combustion ratio of MgH2, TiH2 and ZrH2 was more than 96.0%, with combustion heat value of 29.96, 20.94 and 12.22 MJ/kg, respectively, which was consistent with the explosion pressure and explosion severity test results.     

Investigation on energy output structure of explosives near-ground explosion

In order to give the energy output structure of typical explosives near-ground explosion in real ground conditions, the free-field shockwave, ground reflection shockwave and Mach wave overpressure time history of composition B explosive, RDX explosive and aluminized explosive were measured by air pressure sensors and ground pressure sensors. The shape of the free-field shock wave, ground reflection shock wave, and Mach wave and explosion flame were captured by high-speed camera. The experimental results show that, at the same horizontal distance from the initiation point, the peak overpressure of explosive shock wave of composition B explosive, both in the air and on the ground, is less than that of RDX and aluminized explosives. At a distance of 3.0 m from the initiation point, the peak overpressure of aluminized explosives is slightly less than that of RDX explosives. Owing to the exothermic effect of aluminum powder, the pressure drop of aluminized explosives is slower than that of RDX explosives. At 5.0 m from the initiation point, the peak overpressure of aluminized explosives is larger than that of RDX explosives. At the same position from the initiation point, among the three kinds of explosives, the impulse of aluminized explosives is the maximum and the impulse of composition B explosives is the minimum. With the increase of the horizontal distance from the initiation point, the height of Mach triple-points (Mach steam) of the three explosives increases gradually. At the same horizontal distance from the initiation point, there is poorly difference in the height of Mach triple-points between aluminized explosive and RDX explosive, and the height of Mach triple-points of composition B explosive is much smaller than that of other two explosives. The maximum diameter and duration of the fireball formed by aluminized explosives are the largest, followed by composition B explosive, and the maximum diameter and duration of the fireball formed by RDX explosive are the smallest.     

Study of simple plane wave generator with an air-metal barrier

Plane wave generators (PWGs) are used to accelerate flyer plates to high velocities with their generated plane waves, which are widely used in the test of dynamic properties of materials. The traditional PWG is composed of two explosives with different detonation velocities. It is difficult to implement the related fabrication processes and control the generated waves due to its complicated structures. A simple plane wave generator is presented in this paper, which is composed of two identical cylindrical high explosive (HE) charges and an air-metal barrier. A theoretical model was established based on two different paths of the propagation of detonation waves, based on which the size of air-metal barrier was calculated for a given charge. The corresponding numerical simulations were also carried out by AUTODYN-2D^® based on the calculated results, which were used to compare with the theoretical calculations. A detonation wave with a flatness of 0.039 μs within the range of 70-percent diameter of the main charge was obtained through the simulations.     

Nitro-tetrazole based high performing explosives: Recent overview of synthesis and energetic properties

Heterocyclic skeleton (Azoles) and different energetic groups containing high performing explosives are highly emerged in recent years to meet the challenging requirements of energetic materials in both military and civilian applications with improved performance. For this purpose tetrazole (Azole) is identified as an attractive heterocyclic backbone with energetic functional groups nitro (-NO₂), nitrato (-ONO₂), nitrimino (-NNO₂), and nitramino (–NH–NO₂) to replace the traditionally used high performing explosives. The tetrazole based compounds having these energetic functional groups demonstrated advanced energetic performance (detonation velocity and pressure), densities, and heat of formation (HOF) and became a potential replacement of traditional energetic compounds such as RDX. This review presents a summary of the recently reported nitro-tetrazole energetic compounds containing poly-nitro, di/mono-nitro, nitrato/nitramino/nitrimino, bridged/bis/di tetrazole and nitro functional groups, describing their preparation methods, advance energetic properties, and further applications as high-performing explosives, especially those reported in the last decade. This review aims to provide a fresh concept for designing nitro-tetrazole based high performing explosives together with major challenges and perspectives.     

Numerical modelling of non-ideal detonation in ANFO explosives applying Wood-Kirkwood theory coupled with EXPLO5 thermochemical code

Ammonium nitrate and fuel oil (ANFO) based explosive is a classic example of non-ideal high explosives. Its detonation is characterized by a strong dependence of detonation parameters on explosive charge diameter, presence and characteristics of confinement, as well as incomplete consumption of explosive at the sonic point.In this work we propose a detonation model based on the Wood-Kirkwood (WK) theory coupled with the thermochemical code EXPLO5 and supplemented with reaction rate models. Our objective is to analyze the validity of the model for highly non-ideal ANFO explosives, with emphasis on effect of reaction rate models.It was found that both single-step and two-step pressure-based models can be calibrated to reproduce experimental detonation velocity-charge radius data of ANFO at radii significantly above the failure radius (i.e. for D/D_id > ∼0.6). Single-step pressure-based model, with the pressure exponent equal to 1.4, proved to be the most accurate, even in the vicinity of the failure radius. The impact of the rate models is most evident on temporal (and spatial) distribution of flow parameters in detonation driving zone, especially when it comes to the conversion and width of detonation driving zone.     

Numerical study on the case effect of a bomb air explosion

When considering the bomb explosion damage effect, the air shock wave and high-speed fragments of the bomb case are two major threats. In experiments, the air shock wave was studied by the bare ex-plosives superseding the real cased bomb; in contrast, the bomb case influence was ignored to reduce risk. The air explosion simulations of the MK84 warhead with and without the case were conducted. The numerical simulation results showed that the bomb case significantly influenced the shock wave generated by the bomb: the spatial distribution of shock wave in the near field changed, and the peak value of shock wave was reduced. Breakage of the case and kinetic energy of the fragmentation consumed 3 and 38% of the explosion energy, respectively. The increasing factors of the peak over-pressure induced by the bare explosive on the ground and in the air were 1.43-3.04 and 1.37-1.57, respectively. Four typical stages of case breakage were defined. The mass distribution of the fragments follows the Mott distribution. The initial velocity distribution of the fragments agreed well with the Gurney equation.     

The Early Responses of Air-backed plate subjected to underwater explosion with aluminized explosives

This work aims to research the effects on the early responses of the air-backed plate subjected to the loading generated by the underwater explosion with aluminized explosives. The loading characteristics of underwater explosion for ideal explosive (TNT), aluminized explosives (RS211 and RBUL) are obtained experimentally. The tested aluminized explosives have different energy output compared with TNT. Based on the Taylor plate theory, the early responses of the air-backed steel plate affected by the measured loading is analyzed. The analytical results indicate that the pressure curve of the shock wave within 1 time decay constant is the main factor affecting the kick-off velocity of the plate when cavitation occurring. The velocity responses of the plate produced by the loading of RS211 and RBUL are obviously different with that of an equivalent TNT charge, which also indicates validity and suitability should be noticed in the case of substituting TNT for aluminized explosives. Moreover, the uncertainties in the responses of the plate produced by RS211 and RBUL are much larger than TNT.     

Liquid phase in-situ synthesis of LiF coated boron powder composite and performance study

Among practical metal additives, boron (B) has a high volumetric heating value, making it a promising choice as a fuel additive. Although B can theoretically yield a large amount of energy upon complete combustion, its combustion is retarded by the initial presence of B oxide, which coats the surfaces of B particle. To improve the ignition and combustion properties of B powder, LiOH and NH₄F were used as precursors to synthesize uniformly LiF-coated B composites (LiF-B) in situ. The LiF-B mixture was also prepared for comparison using a physical method. X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR), scanning electron microscope (SEM), and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) were used to characterize the morphologies and compositions of the products. The thermal and combustion properties of the samples were characterized by thermal gravity-differential thermal gravity (TG-DTG), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and closed bomb experiment. The XRD, FTIR, SEM and EDS results demonstrated the successful preparation of the coated LiF-B sample. The TG-DTG and closed bomb experiment results indicated that the addition of LiF decreased the ignition temperature of B powder, and increasing its reaction efficiency. DSC results show that when LiF-B was added, the released heat of underwater explosive increased by 6727.2, 7280.4 and 3109.6 J/g at heating rates of 5, 10, and 15 °C/min, respectively. Moreover, LiF-B decreased the activation energy of secondary combustion reaction of explosive system as calculated through Kissinger's method by 28.9%, which indicated an excellent catalytic effect for the thermal decomposition of underwater explosive. The results reveal that LiF can improve the combustion efficiency of B powder, thereby increasing the total energy of explosives. The mechanical sensitivity increased slightly after adding LiF-B to the underwater explosive. Compared to the underwater explosive with added B, the mechanical sensitivity of the explosive with added LiF-B was significantly lower.     

Prediction of concentration of toxic gases produced by detonation of commercial explosives by thermochemical equilibrium calculations

An adverse effect resulting from explosive mine blasts is the production of toxic nitrogen oxides (NO and NO₂) and carbon monoxide (CO). The empirical measurements of the concentration of toxic gases showed that it depends not only on the composition of an explosive and properties of its ingredients but also on several other parameters, such as volume of blasting chamber, explosive charge mass and design, confinement characteristics, surrounding atmosphere, etc. That explains why measured concentrations of toxic gases reported in literature significantly differ.In this paper, we discuss the possibility of theoretical prediction of the concentration of toxic gases by thermochemical equilibrium calculation applying two models: ideal detonation model and deflagration model. It can be demonstrated that thermochemical calculations can provide a good estimation of the measured concentrations and reproduce experimentally obtained effects of additives on the production of toxic gases. It was also found that the ideal detonation model applies to heavily confined explosive charges, while the deflagration model is more suitable for low detonation velocity explosives with light confinement.     

Effects of nano-sized aluminum on detonation characteristics and metal acceleration for RDX-based aluminized explosive

Nano-sized aluminum(Nano-Al)powders hold promise in enhancing the total energy of explosives and the metal acceleration ability at the same time.However,the near-detonation zone effects of reaction between Nano-Al with detonation products remain unclear.In this study,the overall reaction process of 170 nm Al with RDX explosive and its effect on detonation characteristics,detonation reaction zone,and the metal acceleration ability were comprehensively investigated through a variety of experiments such as the detonation velocity test,detonation pressure test,explosive/window interface velocity test and confined plate push test using high-resolution laser interferometry.Lithium fluoride(LiF),which has an inert behavior during the explosion,was used as a control to compare the contribution of the reaction of aluminum.A thermochemical approach that took into account the reactivity of aluminum and ensuing detonation products was adopted to calculate the additional energy release by afterburn.Combining the numerical simulations based on the calculated afterburn energy and experimental results,the param-eters in the detonation equation of state describing the Nano-Al reaction characteristics were calibrated.This study found that when the 170 nm Al content is from 0％to 15％,every 5％increase of aluminum resulted in about a 1.3％decrease in detonation velocity.Manganin pressure gauge measurement showed no significant enhancement in detonation pressure.The detonation reaction time and reaction zone length of RDX/Al/wax/80/15/5 explosive is 64 ns and 0.47 mm,which is respectively 14％and 8％higher than that of RDX/wax/95/5 explosive(57 ns and 0.39 mm).Explosive/window interface velocity curves show that 170 nm Al mainly reacted with the RDX detonation products after the detonation front.For the recording time of about 10 μs throughout the plate push test duration,the maximum plate velocity and plate acceleration time accelerated by RDX/Al/wax/80/15/5 explosive is 12％and 2.9 μs higher than that of RDX/LiF/wax/80/15/5,respectively,indicating that the aluminum reaction energy significantly increased the metal acceleration time and ability of the explosive.Numerical simulations with JWLM explosive equation of state show that when the detonation products expanded to 2 times the initial volume,over 80％of the aluminum had reacted,implying very high reactivity.These results are significant in attaining a clear understanding of the reaction mechanism of Nano-Al in the development of aluminized explosives.     

The non-isothermal gravimetric method for study the thermal decomposition kinetic of HNBB and HNS explosives

The hexanitrostilben (HNS) is a thermally stable explosive that can be prepared from hexanitrobibenzyl (HNBB). Therefore, the investigation of thermal stability of HNBB can be important in the yield of preparation of HNS. The decomposition kinetic of HNBB and HNS are studied by non-isothermal gravimetric method. The TG/DTG curves in non-isothermal method are obtained in range of 25°C–400 °C at heating rates of 3 °C/min, 5 °C/min, 8 °C/min, 10 °C/min and 12 °C/min. The data of weight-temperature are used for calculation of activation energy (E_a) of thermal decomposition reactions by methods of Ozawa, Kissinger, Ozawa-Flynn-Wall (OFW) and Kissinger-Akahira-Sunose (KAS) as model-free methods and Strink's equation as model-fitting method. The compensation effect is used for prediction of mechanism and determination of pre-exponential factor (lnA) of the decomposition reaction. A reduction 60 kj/mol for the average of activation energy of thermal decomposition reaction of HNBB is obtained versus HNS. This result shows the lower thermal stability of HNBB in comparison to HNS. The Avrami equation (A_3/2) with function f(α) = 3/2(1-α)[-ln(1-α)]^1/3 indicates the predicted mechanism for thermal decomposition reaction both explosives.     

Experimental and numerical investigations of interface properties of Ti6Al4V/CP-Ti/Copper composite plate prepared by explosive welding

Explosive welding technique is widely used in many industries. This technique is useful to weld different kinds of metal alloys that are not easily welded by any other welding methods. Interlayer plays an important role to improve the welding quality and control energy loss during the collision process. In this paper, the Ti6Al4V plate was welded with a copper plate in the presence of a commercially pure titanium interlayer. Microstructure details of welded composite plate were observed through optical and scanning electron microscope. Interlayer-base plate interface morphology showed a wavy structure with solid melted regions inside the vortices. Moreover, the energy dispersive spectroscopy analysis in the interlayer-base interface reveals that there are some identified regions of different kinds of chemical equilibrium phases of Cu–Ti, i.e. CuTi, Cu₂Ti, CuTi₂, Cu₄Ti, etc. To study the mechanical properties of composite plates, mechanical tests were conducted, including the tensile test, bending test, shear test and Vickers hardness test. Numerical simulation of explosive welding process was performed with coupled Smooth Particle Hydrodynamic method, Euler and Arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian method. The multi-physics process of explosive welding, including detonation, jetting and interface morphology, was observed with simulation. Moreover, simulated plastic strain, temperature and pressure profiles were analysed to understand the welding conditions. Simulated results show that the interlayer base plate interface was created due to the high plastic deformation and localized melting of the parent plates. At the collision point, both alloys behave like fluids, resulting in the formation of a wavy morphology with vortices, which is in good agreement with the experimental results.     

Mitigation effects on the reflected overpressure of blast shock with water surrounding an explosive in a confined space

The mitigation of blast shock with water has broad application prospects. Understanding the mitigation effects on the reflected overpressure of the explosion shock with water surrounding an explosive in a confined space is of great significance for military explosives safety applications. To estimate the effects of the parameters on the reflected overpressure of blasted shock wave, a series of experiments were carried out in confined containers with spherical explosives immersed in a certain thickness of water, and numerical simulations were conducted to explore the corresponding mechanisms. The results reveal that the reflected overpressure is abnormally aggravated at a small scaled distance. This aggravation is due to the high impulse of the bulk accelerated water shell converted from the explosion. With increasing scaled distance, the energy will be gradually dissipated. The mitigation effects will appear with the dispersed water phase front impacting at a larger scaled distance, except in the case of a dense water phase state. A critical scaled distance range of 0.7—0.8 m/kg1/3 for effective mitigation was found. It is suggested that the scaled distance of space walls should be larger than the critical value for a certain water-to-explosive weight ratio range (5—20).     

The surface activation of boron to improve ignition and combustion characteristic

Boron is a very promising and highly attractive fuel because of high calorific value. However, the practical applications in explosives and propellants of boron have been limited by long ignition delay time and low combustion efficiency. Herein, nano-Al and graphene fluoride (GF) as surface activated materials are employed to coat boron (B) particles to improve ignition and combustion performance. The reaction heat of nano-Al coated B/KNO₃ and GF coated B/KNO₃ are 1116.83 J/g and 862.69 J/g, respectively, which are higher than that of pure B/KNO₃ (823.39 J/g). The ignition delay time of B/KNO₃ could be reduced through nano-Al coating. The shortest ignition delay time is only 75 ms for B coated with nano-Al of 8 wt%, which is much shorter than that of pure B/KNO₃ (109 ms). However, the ignition delay time of B/KNO₃ coated with GF has been increased from 109 to 187 ms. B coated with GF and nano-Al shown significantly influence on the pressure output and flame structure of B/KNO₃. Furthermore, the effects of B/O ratios on the pressure output and ignition delay time have been further fully studied. For B/KNO₃ coated with nano-Al and GF, the highest pressures are 88 KPa and 59 KPa for B/O ratio of 4:6, and the minimum ignition delay time are 94 ms and 148 ms for B/O ratio of 7:3. Based on the above results, the reaction process of boron coated with GF and nano-Al has been proposed to understand combustion mechanism.     

Performances and direct writing of CL-20 based ultraviolet curing explosive ink

A new type of explosive ink formulation that can be quickly cured was prepared with unsaturated polyester as binder,styrene as active monomer,2,4,6-trimethylbenzoyl-diphenylphosphine oxide as photoinitiator,and hexanitrohexaazaisowurtzitane (CL-20) as the main explosive.Then the explosive ink direct writing technology was used to charge the micro-sized energetic devices,the curing mechanism of the explosive ink was discussed,and the microstructure,safety performance and explosive transfer performance of the explosive ink molded samples were tested and analyzed.Results indicate that the composite material has a fast curing molding speed,its hardness can reach 2H within 8 min.The crystal form of CL-20 in the molded sample is still ε type.The CL-20 based W-curing explosive ink formulation has good compatibility,its apparent activation energy is increased by about 3.5 kJ/mol.The composite presents a significant reduction in impact sensitivity and its characteristic drop height can reach 39.8 cm,which is about 3 times higher than the raw material.When the line width of charge is 1.0 mm,the critical thickness of the explosion can reach 0.015 mm,and the explosion velocity is 7129 m/s when the charge density is 1.612 g/cm3.     

模拟油罐油气混合物爆炸实验与数值仿真研究

对模拟油罐内油气混合物爆炸冲击波特性进行了研究.在直径为1 m的模拟油罐中进行了油气混合物爆炸模拟实验,建立了模拟油罐油气混合物爆炸的数值仿真模型,并借助大型商业软件Fluent6.2完成了数值仿真研究.数值仿真结果与实验值较为吻合.模拟实验和数值仿真研究的结果表明:油气体积分数、罐内初始温度等决定模拟油罐油气混合物爆炸压力的大小.油罐内爆炸压力波的振荡特性对金属油罐结构来说是有害的.     

Ni-Zn铁氧体粉末的溶胶-凝胶合成及微波性能

以硝酸铁、硝酸镍、硝酸锌、柠檬酸和氨水为原料,用溶胶-凝胶法合成了不同组成的Ni-Zn铁氧体粉末。利用热分析、X射线衍射等手段研究了干凝胶热分解行为。利用网络分析仪对铁氧体粉末的电磁性能进行了表征,考察了铁氧体的组成与其电磁性能之间的关系。结果表明,溶胶-凝胶法合成的铁氧体粉末的μ″值随测试频率的提高和Ni-Zn铁氧体中锌含量的增加而减小。     

金属冲击温度的测量研究

文中介绍了冲击温度的多波长光谱辐射测量方法。利用光学高温计测量了４５号钢在２３０ＧＰａ左右的冲击压力下的冲击温度值,对所测得的结果进行了比较和分析。