Jakub Šelešovský

Sensitivity to friction for primary explosives

The sensitivity to friction for a selection of primary explosives has been studied using a small BAM friction apparatus. The probit analysis was used for the construction of a sensitivity curve for each primary explosive tested. Two groups of primary explosives were chosen for measurement (a) the most commonly used industrially produced primary explosives (e.g. lead azide, tetrazene, dinol, lead styphnate) and (b) the most produced improvised primary explosives (e.g. triacetone triperoxide, hexamethylenetriperoxide diamine, mercury fulminate, acetylides of heavy metals). A knowledge of friction sensitivity is very important for determining manipulation safety for primary explosives. All the primary explosives tested were carefully characterised (synthesis procedure, shape and size of crystals). The sensitivity curves obtained represent a unique set of data, which cannot be found anywhere else in the available literature.

Power of TATP based explosives

The power of various explosive mixtures based on triacetone triperoxide (3,3,6,6,9,9-hexamethyl-1,2,4,5,7,8-hexoxonane, TATP), ammonimum nitrate (AN), urea nitrate (UrN) and water (W), namely TATP/AN, oil/AN, TATP/UrN, TATP/W and TATP/AN/W, was studied using the ballistic mortar test. The ternary mixtures of TATP/AN/W have relatively high power in case of the low water contents. Their power decrease significantly with increasing the water content in the mixture to more than 30%.

Thermal behavior and decomposition kinetics of ETN and its mixtures with PETN and RDX

Erythritol tetranitrate (butane-1,2,3,4-tetrayl tetranitrate, ETN) has become one of the most synthesized improvised explosives nowadays as it can be found on public internet discussion boards. However, the low melting point, nitrocellulose gelling ability, high energy content, and availability of its precursor make the substance potentially useful in industry as an energetic component or additive in certain gun propellants. Mixtures of ETN with other high explosives are also frequently discussed on web pages dealing with improvised explosives. This article describes thermal behavior and decomposition kinetics of pure ETN and its mixtures with pentaerythritol tetranitrate and cyclonite (1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazinane, RDX). The thermal behavior and decomposition kinetics of such mixtures are described using non-isothermal DSC and TG techniques. Kissinger method, Soviet manometric method, and modified Kissinger–Akahira–Sunose method were used for data evaluation.

Decreasing Friction Sensitivity for Primary Explosives

Primary explosives are a group of explosives that are widely used in various initiating devices. One of their properties is sufficient sensitivity to initiating stimuli. However, their sensitivity often introduces a safety risk during their production and subsequent handling. It is generally known that water can be used to desensitize these compounds. The most commonly used industrial primary explosives (lead azide, lead styphnate, tetrazene, and diazodinitrophenol) were mixed with water in various ratios and the sensitivity to friction was determined for all mixtures. It was found that even a small addition of water (5–10%) considerably lowered the friction sensitivity.

Thermal loading of explosives--finite difference method with time step reduction.

The method of simulation of heat transfer during thermal loading of energetic materials is introduced. The combination of the simple finite difference method with a time step reduction enables the quick and precise calculation of ignition times. The results are in accordance with published model data. The method was also used to simulate heat transfer during the slow cookoff test and the result agrees very well with experimental data.