Abstract
An experimental investigation of the shock initiation of liquid nitromethane is described. Shock pressures and temperatures in the unreacted liquid ranged from 7.5 to 9.5 GPa and 900 to 1100 °K. Diagnostic information was obtained from ferroelectric pins immersed in the liquid and from simultaneous streak camera and velocity interferometric records. The data support the thermal ignition model of one-dimensional shock initiation of nitromethane. The interferometer initiation time data are analyzed to obtain kinetic parameters in a first order overall rate law for the initiation-decomposition reaction in nitromethane. The rate constant for this overall reaction is suggested as k 1 = 2.6 × 10 9 exp(−23000/RT) sec −1, which is appreciably different from the rate constant for the unimolecular bond-scission reaction. The data support the conclusion that radical reactions significantly influence the overall initiation reaction in liquid nitromethane.
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