Production of desensitized, ultrafine PETN powder

Autor: Amanda L. Duque, Jeremy Tisdale, Larry G. Hill
Rok vydání: 2022
Předmět:
Zdroj: Powder Technology. 396:152-157
ISSN: 0032-5910
DOI: 10.1016/j.powtec.2021.10.042
Popis: 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. 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.
Databáze: OpenAIRE