| Reformulation of PETN plastic explosive |
| Paper ID : 1111-IUGRC6 (R1) |
| Authors |
|
Mahmoud Abdelhafiz * Explosives Department, MTC, Egypt |
| Abstract |
| After long storage, a well-known problem related to missing the flexibility of the plastic explosives usually appeared. In this work, the reformulation of old PETN plastic explosives is presented. The plastic explosive was modified by adding a polymeric matrix based on a non-energetic thermoplastic binder plasticized by dibutyl phthalate (DBP). The crystal morphology after modification was studied by scanning electron microscope (SEM). The heat of combustion was determined experimentally. The compatibility of PETN plastic explosive with the polymeric matrix was studied by vacuum stability test. Sensitivity to impact and friction were determined. The detonation velocity was measured experimentally It was concluded that the old explosive is compatible with the polymeric matrix, and the sensitivity is at the same level as traditional plastic explosives. The detonation velocity is slightly lower than Semtex 1A. This study concluded that EPX-1, a new plastic explosive, contains compatible ingredients. The polymeric matrix completely coats the PETN crystals in EPX-1. EPX-1's sensitivity to impact and friction is comparable to that of the majority of the plastic explosives studied. EPX-1 has the fastest detonation velocity of any plastic explosive studied. EPX-1's calculated detonation pressure and heat of detonation are on par with Semtex 10 and higher than the other plastic explosives studied. Some relationships were investigated and found to be in good agreement with the calculated detonation parameters by the EXPLO5 code and the measured parameters. EPX-1 is an intriguing plastic explosive that could be used in military applications. |
| Keywords |
| Plastic Explosives, SEM, Compatibility, Sensitivity, Detonation. |
| Status: Accepted |