PBXN-110 studier

Abstract

The PBXN-110 composition has been used to test the quality of HMX crystals. PBXN-110 is a cast cure PBX containing an inert binder system and HMX. A ratio of 3:7 between HMX class 2 and class 3 and a filler content of 87.2wt% has been used to study the process ability, shock sensitivity, Shore A hardness and mechanical properties. Two combinations of crystals were used for production of test units. The tested crystals resulted in one mix with moderate and one poor viscosity. The cured material of the mix with moderate viscosity had average density of 1.66 g/cm3. The shock sensitivity was determined by use of Intermediate Scale Gap test. 50% probability of a detonation was obtained with a limit between go/no go of 38+1 kbar. Giving a shock sensitivity slightly better than for PBXN-110 with standard HMX. All mixes had Shore A15s hardness well above the requirement of 20. Three of four tested mixes with moderate viscosity had mechanical properties better than the requirement. For one mix with Shore A15s hardness higher than 34 the strain at max stress were lower than the requirement of 9%.