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Title: The Henkin-McGill critical temperature test for explosives revisited: An overview of historical and modern method development

Journal Article · · Thermochimica Acta
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  1. Sandia National Laboratories (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)
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Many overarching standards, regulations, or other requirements necessitate that the critical temperature (Tcrit) of an energetic material be known or estimate prior to operations such as heating. However, they rarely, if ever, provide a specific method for doing so. While other methods exist to calculate Tcrit, such as the Frank-Kamenetskii equation, computer simulation, etc., these cannot be readily utilized for energetics that are physical mixtures (i.e. most pyrotechnics) or materials where detailed material properties required for such calculations are lacking. Here, in this study, a COTS (commercial off-the-shelf) SBAT (Simulated Bulk Auto-ignition Test) apparatus is modified to perform Henkin cookoff tests. This creates a simple, efficient, and cost-effective solution to estimate required Tcrit values for energetic materials. After a historical overview of the evolution of the Henkin test, several common energetic materials (PETN, RDX, etc.) for which Tcrit has been readily calculated, and historical data is available, were analyzed for comparison and verification purposes. This was followed by a variety of pyrotechnic mixtures and other materials to where calculation methods cannot be readily used. The modified apparatus, as well as an updated sample shell sealing method, produced results that aligned well with historical data. It also produced reasonable Tcrit estimates for those materials where the Frank-Kamenetskii equation cannot be applied.

Research Organization:
Sandia National Laboratories (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)
Grant/Contract Number:
NA0003525
OSTI ID:
2540229
Report Number(s):
SAND--2025-03426J
Journal Information:
Thermochimica Acta, Journal Name: Thermochimica Acta Journal Issue: C Vol. 748; ISSN 0040-6031
Publisher:
ElsevierCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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Related Subjects

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
Frank-Kamenetskii
Henkin
cookoff
critical temperature
energetic materials
explosives
pyrotechnics
thermal explosion
thermal runaway