Abstract
Bulk emulsion explosives, although they are very convenient and safe to use, also have disadvantages, with the main one being the relatively low power in relation to cartridged emulsion explosives or classic nitroesters (e.g., dynamites). Therefore, materials of this type currently have only limited use. In addition, these materials are characterized by the variability of blasting parameters over time from loading into the blasthole, which is closely dependent on the utilised mining method of the mine, which makes it difficult to precisely control the fragmentation. The industry is trying to respond to the demand for bulk emulsion explosives with increased energy and improved parameter stability, but so far it has not been possible to do so in a safe and effective way. Methods of improving blasting parameters mainly rely on additives to oxidant solutions during production, which creates additional risks at the production stage, as it involves handling hot and concentrated ammonium nitrate solutions, for which there are known cases of uncontrolled decomposition of such solutions, even leading to an explosion. This paper presents a method of improving the thermodynamic parameters and the stability of the sensitization reaction without the need for changes in the oxidant solution.
Highlights
Emulsion explosives (EEs) are a fairly recently developed and constantly evolving class of energetic materials [1,2,3] that feature high safety parameters and excellent performance benchmarks, comparable in some cases to the performance of dynamites
The properties of the EEs utilising the proposed sensitizing agent formulations were predicted theoretically in comparison with the commonly used Emulinit 8L EE, using EXPLO5 software. This software is an accurate tool for predicting the fundamental properties and performance parameters of a variety of explosives, based on their composition, it is unable to take into account some physical processes taking place in emulsion explosives, which are non-ideal explosives, such as the precipitation of microscopic grains of ammonium perchlorate in the bulk of the EE
The software was able to predict that both BK-1 and BK-2 will outperform Emulinit 8L in terms of both velocity of detonation (VoD) and compression energy (Table 2)
Summary
Emulsion explosives (EEs) are a fairly recently developed and constantly evolving class of energetic materials [1,2,3] that feature high safety parameters and excellent performance benchmarks, comparable in some cases to the performance of dynamites. Either physically (e.g., with the use of glass microspheres) or chemically (e.g., through tractions, in which gas is released within the entire volume of the matrix), with the two types of processes being used to produce cartridged and bulk EEs, respectively. Regardless of their form of use, the development of EEs with continuously improving properties is a highly-active and multidisciplinary field that attracts significant scientific interest, focused on various aspects of those materials, be it their rheology [4,5], their energetic properties [6,7] or their safety features [8]. The sensitizing agent must be employed in the form of a liquid, so as to provide lubrication of the loading hose
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