Overview of research in energetic materials

Abstract

This section presents an overview of research done for the fundamental characterization of properties and behavior of energetic materials. Energetic materials encompass different classes of chemical compositions of fuels and oxidants that react rapidly upon initiation and release large quantities of force (through the generation of high-velocity product species) or energy (in the form of heat and light). Energetic materials are typically classified as explosives, propellants, pyrotechnics, or incendiaries, and distinctions among the classes are usually in terms of the types of products generated and the rates of reactions. These particular features have been advantageously employed in a wide variety of industrial and military applications, but often these utilizations have not been fully optimized, mainly because of the inability to identify and understand the individual fundamental chemical and physical steps that control the conversion of the material to its final products. The properties and behavior of the material can change over time. The rate of the conversion of the material is strongly dependent on the conditions of the initiation.