Vibrational spectroscopy of HNS degradation.

Conference · Tue Jul 01 04:00:00 EDT 2008

OSTI ID:1048492

Martin, Laura Elizabeth; Welle, Eric James; Ten Eyck, Gregory A; Schmitt, Randal L; Alam, Mary Kathleen

Hexanitrostilbene (HNS) is a widely used explosive, due in part to its high thermal stability. Degradation of HNS is known to occur through UV, chemical exposure, and heat exposure, which can lead to reduced performance of the material. Common methods of testing for HNS degradation include wet chemical and surface area testing of the material itself, and performance testing of devices that use HNS. The commonly used chemical tests, such as volatility, conductivity and contaminant trapping provide information on contaminants rather than the chemical stability of the HNS itself. Additionally, these tests are destructive in nature. As an alternative to these methods, we have been exploring the use of vibrational spectroscopy as a means of monitoring HNS degradation non-destructively. In particular, infrared (IR) spectroscopy lends itself well to non-destructive analysis. Molecular variations in the material can be identified and compared to pure samples. The utility of IR spectroscopy was evaluated using pressed pellets of HNS exposed to DETA (diethylaminetriamine). Amines are known to degrade HNS, with the proposed product being a {sigma}-adduct. We have followed these changes as a function of time using various IR sampling techniques including photoacoustic and attenuated total reflectance (ATR).

• Research Organization: Sandia National Laboratories
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• DOE Contract Number: AC04-94AL85000
• OSTI ID: 1048492
• Report Number(s): SAND2008-4772C
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS
AMINES
MONITORING
NONDESTRUCTIVE ANALYSIS
OPTICS
PELLETS
PERFORMANCE
PERFORMANCE TESTING
SAMPLING
SPECTROSCOPY
STABILITY
SURFACE AREA
TESTING
TRAPPING
VOLATILITY