The Elusive Coefficients of Thermal Expansion in PBX 9502

Technical Report · Thu May 01 04:00:00 EDT 2003

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/809945· OSTI ID:809945

Skidmore, C B ^[1]; Butler, T A; Sandoval, C W

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1. LANL

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., NM (US)
• Sponsoring Organization: US Department of Energy (US)
• DOE Contract Number: W-7405-ENG-36
• OSTI ID: 809945
• Report Number(s): LA-14003
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

45 MILITARY TECHNOLOGY, WEAPONRY, AND NATIONAL DEFENSE
73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS
98 NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT, SAFEGUARDS, AND PHYSICAL PROTECTION
BINDERS
CHEMICAL EXPLOSIVES
KEL-F
PERFORMANCE
TATB
THERMAL EXPANSION