Untitled - Sciencemadness Dot Org

w
%
Table 4.06 PETN (PRESSED)
Composition
Pure detonator-grade pentaerythritol tetranitrate
Theoretical Maximum Density
1.778 g/cm”
Particle Size Distribution
The elongated, prismatic crystals are 130-160 pm’long and lo-20 pm across. Air permeation determina-
tions on l.O-g/ems specimens gave a specific surface of 3300 cmz/g.
Preparation Method
Cold pressing into pellets and machining into wedges, except for the l.O-g/cm8 wedges, which were formed
by cutting.
Comments
The experiments and analyses differed from all previous ones as fallows.
(a) The Hugoniot relations for 1.72- and 1.6-g/cm8 PETN were fitted by constraining the intercept of the
fitted shock-velocity vs particle-velocity curve to be the bulk sound speed measured in the explosive. This
Hugoniot was used to calculate the relations between input shock strength and time and distance to
detonation. (See Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory report LA-5131.)
(b) The gas-gun experiment shown in Fig. 4.03 was used to obtain data on 1.4- and 1.75-g/cm3 PETN.
Listed are both the input shock parameters, from the observed shock velocities and impedance match
solution with the projectile, and “calculated pressures” obtained from an explosive Hugoniot obtained
separately using quartz-gauge experiments and the measured particle velocities. These calculated pres-
sures are used in fitting relations between initial pressure and distance and time to detonation.