The Elusive Coefficients of Thermal Expansion in PBX 9502
PBX 9502 has been in war reserve service for over two decades. Ninety-five percent of the solid phase of this insensitive high explosive is composed of energetic crystallites designated as TATB (1,3,5-triamino-2,4,6-trinitrobenzene), held together by the remaining solid fraction--an inert, polymeric binder named Kel-F 800. The unusual combination of extreme insensitivity and adequate performance characteristics is not the only enigmatic feature of such TATB-based materials. In this report, we describe the difficulty and progress to date in reliably determining the coefficients of thermal expansion for consolidated components of PBX 9502. We provide bulk linear coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) values for PBX 9502 consolidated to a density of approximately 1.890 g/cm{sup 3} and offer a simple set of equations for calculating dimensional changes for temperatures from 218 to 347 K (-55 C to 74 C).
- Research Organization:
- Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- US Department of Energy (US)
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-7405-ENG-36
- OSTI ID:
- 809945
- Report Number(s):
- LA-14003; TRN: US200308%%329
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: PBD: 1 May 2003
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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