Aging of Pentaerythritol Tetranitrate (PETN)

Foltz, M. Frances

doi:10.2172/966904

Cited by 27 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 85 publications

(125 reference statements)

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“…However, there still exist important gaps in predicting its behavior in standard commercial detonators over long periods of time. In general, the analysis of aging characteristics of explosives and their influence on initiation behavior is an important topic of interest [8,9,10]. Though small-scale studies have been performed on specific detonator systems with isolated batches of material, what is missing is a large statistically-significant study focusing on PETN aging characteristics -such as powder coarsening -and their influence on detonator performance.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Role of Pentaerythritol Tetranitrate (PETN) Aging in Determining Detonator Firing Characteristics

Lease

Burnside

Brown

et al. 2020

Propellants Explo Pyrotec

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Pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN) is one of the most commonly used explosives for both military and mining applications. PETN is used in EBW (exploding bridge wire) and EFI (exploding foil initiator) detonator devices. Due the widespread usage of PETN, studies focusing on how the explosive changes with age, primarily its function in detonators has received particular interest. Aging studies have identified several factors that affect PETN detonator function over time, most notably the specific surface area of the explosive powder. Though small-scale studies have been performed on specific detonator systems with isolated batches of material, what is missing is a large statistically-significant study focusing on PETN aging characteristics-such as powder coarsening-and their influence on detonator performance. Herein we report the first large statistically viable PETN aging study focusing on four batches of PETN powder from the same stock of PETN using two stabilizers, polysaccharide and TriPEON. PETN was aged both as a free-flowing powder as well as in modified EBW RP-2 detonators, for one month at 75°C. The PETN powder has been analyzed chemically using Fisher specific surface area analysis, SEM imaging and light scattering particle size analysis. Additionally the detonators were tested for performance through voltage-sweep threshold testing and function time measurements. Findings from the study indicate that aging at 75°C for one month significantly changes the specific surface area and particle size of unstabilized PETN, leading to increases in detonator function time, but not detonator threshold values. Powders stabilized with TriPEON displayed less significant increases in function time, while powder stabilized with polysaccharide exhibited no aging effects, despite the high temperature aging.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Role of Pentaerythritol Tetranitrate (PETN) Aging in Determining Detonator Firing Characteristics

Lease

Burnside

Brown

et al. 2020

Propellants Explo Pyrotec

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“…To ensure good ignition characteristics of high‐explosive devices under long‐term storage, the specific surface area (i. e. surface area per unit mass) of initiating powders like pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN), octogen (commonly called HMX), and hexogen (commonly known as RDX) need to be maintained within specific margins . The most common quantitative way to characterize specific surface area relevant for ignition and detonation properties employs flow permeametry.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Long‐term Coarsening and Function‐time Evolution of an Initiator Powder

Maiti

Olson

Han

et al. 2017

Propellants Explo Pyrotec

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Long‐term effectiveness of high‐explosive devices necessitates maintaining a level of specific surface area of initiating powder components within specified margins. This ensures that ignition and detonation performance of the powder does not degrade significantly over time. Flow permeametry is a commonly employed surface characterization tool in this context, as embodied in the Fisher sub‐sieve surface area (FSSA). Recently we made alterations to the commercial permeametry apparatus that enables accurate in situ measurements of FSSA using only ∼100 mg samples. In this work we report on a 24‐month aging study in such modified sample holders at elevated temperatures of 40 °C and 60 °C. Through a process called time‐temperature‐superposition (TTS) the resulting isotherms are translated into a single master curve that predicts powder FSSA evolution over decades under ambient temperature conditions. We generate master curves for two different powders, i. e., pure PETN and 1 wt% added TriPEON, and show that the TriPEON‐doped powder coarsens at a rate a few times slower than the non‐doped powder. Activation barriers computed from the TTS shift factors shed some light on the coarsening mechanisms.

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“…However, the rate of the degradation process increased when the textiles were stored at an elevated temperature. The presence of water is detrimental to the stability of PETN; several studies have demonstrated the hydrolysis of the O–NO 2 bonds of PETN, which promotes degradation . This process is accelerated under acidic or basic conditions .…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Chemometrics‐enhanced laser‐induced thermal emission detection of PETN and other explosives on various substrates

Figueroa-Navedo

Galán-Freyle

Pacheco‐Londoño

et al. 2015

Journal of Chemometrics

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Infrared emissions (IREs) of samples of pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN) deposited as contamination residues on various substrates were measured to generate models for the detection and discrimination of the important nitrate ester from the emissions of the substrates. Mid-infrared emissions were generated by heating the samples remotely using laser-induced thermal emission (LITE). Chemometrics multivariate analysis techniques such as principal component analysis (PCA), soft independent modeling by class analogy (SIMCA), partial least squares-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA), support vector machines (SVMs), and neural network (NN) were employed to generate the models for the classification and discrimination of PETN IREs from substrate thermal emissions. PCA exhibited less variability for the LITE spectra of PETN/substrates. SIMCA was able to predict only 44.7% of all samples, while SVM proved to be the most effective statistical analysis routine, with a discrimination performance of 95%. PLS-DA and NN achieved prediction accuracies of 94% and 88%, respectively. High sensitivity and specificity values were achieved for five of the seven substrates investigated.

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Aging of Pentaerythritol Tetranitrate (PETN)

Cited by 27 publications

References 85 publications

The Role of Pentaerythritol Tetranitrate (PETN) Aging in Determining Detonator Firing Characteristics

The Role of Pentaerythritol Tetranitrate (PETN) Aging in Determining Detonator Firing Characteristics

Long‐term Coarsening and Function‐time Evolution of an Initiator Powder

Chemometrics‐enhanced laser‐induced thermal emission detection of PETN and other explosives on various substrates

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