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BARATOL
1. GENERAL PROPERTIES
1.1 Chemical and Physical Description. Baratol, a mixture of barium nitrate,
Ba(NO,),, and TNT, C,HsNBOB, is off-white to gray.
1.2 Common Use. During World War II, the British developed baratols that con-
tained about 20 wt% barium nitrate to replace TNT. The United States used
baratols that contained slightly more barium nitrate in depth charges and other
limited munitions. Baratols that contain up to 76 wt% barium nitrate are now used
as the low detonation velocity explosive in waveshaping devices such as plane-wave
lenses.
1.3 Toxicity.’ Barium nitrate can irritate skin and mucous membranes.
2. MANUFACTURE AND PROCUREMENT
2.1 Manufacture. Finely ground barium nitrate is added to molten TNT to form
a castable slurry. To lower the slurry viscosity, which increases with the percentage
of barium nitrate, about 0.1 wt% of nitrocellulose (11.8-12.2 wt% nitrogen, 18-25
centipoise) is added to the TNT before the addition of the barium nitrate. After the
barium nitrate is added, just before vacuum is applied to the’melt, 0.05-0.1 wt% of
either decylgallophenone or stearoxyacetic acid is added to prevent cracking.
Vacuum is applied to the melt just before casting to remove dissolved and occluded
gas and to provide higher, more uniform density. Carefully controlled cooling of the
casting also promotes uniform density and composition.
2.2 Procurement. There are no purchase specifications for baratol. It is
produced to the user’s specific requirements at ordnance plants that have TNT-
casting facilities.
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