Production of desensitized, ultrafine PETN powder
- Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
Pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN) is a widely studied high explosive (HE), most commonly used in detonator applications. In this work, we use a spray drying technique to manufacture a new “nano-powder” morphology of PETN. The spray dried PETN is several orders of magnitude smaller in particle size than traditionally prepared PETN powders. The spray dried PETN has a mostly spherical and smooth morphology, while traditional crystalline PETN typically has sharp edges and crystal facets. Small-scale sensitivity tests including drop-weight impact, friction, and electrostatic discharge (ESD) indicate the spray dried PETN is less sensitive than traditionally used forms of PETN powders. Furthermore, we also observed no changes in chemical properties (melt temperature and onset of decomposition) after spray drying, and the material remains in the tetragonal, crystalline phase.
- Research Organization:
- Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)
- Grant/Contract Number:
- 89233218CNA000001
- OSTI ID:
- 1829634
- Alternate ID(s):
- OSTI ID: 1868678
- Report Number(s):
- LA-UR--21-28639
- Journal Information:
- Powder Technology, Journal Name: Powder Technology Vol. 396; ISSN 0032-5910
- Publisher:
- ElsevierCopyright Statement
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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