Ireco, Inc.

David L Gordon

Don H Cranney

Richard H Hales

The present invention relates to a cast explosive composition and other energetic compositions such as propellants. (As used herein, the term 'explosive' also shall include other energetic compositions such as propellants.) More particularly, the invention relates to a cast explosive composition which is initially formed as a stable, fluid, water-containing, water-in-oil emulsion explosive and which thereafter solidifies upon the addition of a desiccant and/or emulsion destabilizing agent. As used herein, the term 'desiccant' means a water reacting, absorbing or adsorbing agent. One method of the present invention is the formulating of the cast explosive composition by adding the desiccant and/or destabilizing agent to a stable emulsion to cause the emulsion to solidify. Alternatively, a desiccant can be included in the aqueous phase of the stable emulsion which then is solidified by the addition of an emulsion destabilizing agent. A further method relates to the loading of a container with the cast explosive composition. As used herein, the terms 'cast' and 'solidify' refer to an unflowable or relatively unextrudable mass of finely knitted oxidizer salt crystals which have crystallized from an aqueous solution.

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American Fork, UT, United States of America

David L Gordon