Effects of crystal quality and preferred orientation on the irreversible growth of compact TATB cylindrical explosives

Haobin Zhang,Yu Liu,Hui Huang,Jie Sun,Jingjiang Xu

doi:10.1063/1.4820908

Abstract

Three kinds of 1,3,5-triamino-2,4,6-trinitrobenzene (TATB) cylinders compacted with TATB raw materials, recrystallized near-spherical and platy TATB crystals are compared to investigate the effects of crystal quality and preferred orientation on their irreversible growth. The results show that the higher the crystal quality, the lower the irreversible volume growth. The compacted cylinders of raw material TATB, with the poorest crystal quality, possess more irreversible growth than those with recrystallized high quality TATB crystals. Irreversible growth of TATB cylinders are also affected by crystal preferred orientation. With the same crystal quality, crystal preferred orientation leads to anisotropic irreversible dimension growth, but has no effect on the volume expansion of TATB cylinders. By changing the crystal quality and preferred orientation, the deformation problem of TATB-based PBX explosives may be restricted.

Highlights

1,3,5-Triamino-2,4,6-trinitrobenzene (TATB)-based energetic materials as insensitive high explosives have attracted great research interest due to their excellent chemical and mechanical properties, and wide applications in many military and civil areas.[1,2,3,4] Under thermal cycling processes, the irreversible growth, named as permanent volume expansion or ratchet growth, is the basic defect of TATB-based PBX explosives.[5,6] Rizzo[6] reported that repeated thermal cycling between −54 and 74 ◦C of pure and plastic-bonded TATB billets causes a permanent volume expansion of about 1.5 to 2.0 vol%
Three kinds of 1,3,5-triamino-2,4,6-trinitrobenzene (TATB) cylinders compacted with TATB raw materials, recrystallized near-spherical and platy TATB crystals are compared to investigate the effects of crystal quality and preferred orientation on their irreversible growth
The irreversible growth of compact pure TATB cylinders is affected by their preferred orientation and crystal quality

Summary

INTRODUCTION

1,3,5-Triamino-2,4,6-trinitrobenzene (TATB)-based energetic materials as insensitive high explosives have attracted great research interest due to their excellent chemical and mechanical properties, and wide applications in many military and civil areas.[1,2,3,4] Under thermal cycling processes, the irreversible growth, named as permanent volume expansion or ratchet growth, is the basic defect of TATB-based PBX explosives.[5,6] Rizzo[6] reported that repeated thermal cycling between −54 and 74 ◦C of pure and plastic-bonded TATB billets causes a permanent volume expansion of about 1.5 to 2.0 vol%. Willey[13,14] and Sun[15] thought that additional interstices between TATB powders originated from the thermal cycling should be responsible for the irreversible growth of TATB-based PBX. TATB crystal quality should have much effect on additional interstice production, and further affect the irreversible growth of TATB-based PBX. Based on the as-reported results, the crystal quality and preferred orientation of TATB should have much effect on the irreversible growth of pure TATB and TATB-based PBX cylinders. We present the research results about the effects of crystal quality and preferred orientation on the irreversible growth of pure TATB cylinders

Sample preparation

Crystal quality determination

Preferred orientation measurement

Thermal treating and irreversible growth measurement

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

CONCLUSIONS