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Burning rates of two cast nitramine explosives using a hybrid closed bomb-strand burner

Conference ·
OSTI ID:5368596

The burn rate of two HMX-based cast explosives, RX-08-EL and RX-40-AP, is measured to pressures above 650 MPa using a hybrid closed bomb-strand burner. The hybrid design allows the simultaneous measurement of pressure and regression rate, in each experiment, over a large range of pressures. RX-08-EL is a high performance extrusion cast explosive with low sensitivity, and RX-40-AP is a cast-cured explosive with a mono-modal HMX particle size distribution. Up to 650 MPa, both explosives exhibit a planar burning mechanism with the regression rate obeying the classical aP{sup n} formalism. Upon cycling to 400 MPa, unloading, and re-pressurizing, the RX-08-EL explosive exhibited a significant increase (an order of magnitude) in its burn rate.

Research Organization:
Lawrence Livermore National Lab., CA (USA)
Sponsoring Organization:
DOE/DP
DOE Contract Number:
W-7405-ENG-48
OSTI ID:
5368596
Report Number(s):
UCRL-101879; CONF-890926--3; ON: DE90002785
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English