Preparation and Characterization of Cyclotrimethylenetrinitramine (RDX) with Reduced Sensitivity.

Abstract

The internal defects and shape of cyclotrimethylenetrinitramine (RDX) crystal are critical parameters for the preparation of reduced sensitivity RDX (RS-RDX). In the current study, RDX was re-crystallized and spheroidized to form the high-quality RDX that was further characterized by purity, apparent density, size distribution, specific surface area, impact sensitivity, and shock sensitivity. The effects of re-crystallization solvent on the growth morphology of RDX crystal were investigated by both theoretical simulation and experiment test, and consistent results were obtained. The high-quality RDX exhibited a high purity (≥99.90%), high apparent density (≥1.811 g/cm³), spherical shape, and relatively low impact sensitivity (6%). Its specific surface area was reduced more than 30%. Compared with conventional RDXs, the high-quality RDX reduced the shock sensitivities of PBXN-109 and PBXW-115 by more than 30%, indicating that it was a RS-RDX. The reduced sensitivity and good processability of the high-quality RDX would be significant in improving the performances of RDX-based PBXs.

• Authors: Yuqiao Wang, Xin Li, Shusen Chen, Xiao Ma, Ziyang Yu, Shaohua Jin, Lijie Li, Yu Chen
• Journal: Materials (Basel, Switzerland) (Materials (Basel)) Vol. 10 Issue 8 (Aug 21 2017) ISSN: 1996-1944 [Print] Switzerland
• PMID: 28825661 (Publication Type: Journal Article)