US Government as Represented by the Secretary of the Army

USA as Represented by Secretary of the Navy

Rajen B Patel

Victor Stepanov

Hongwei Qiu

Reddy Damavarapu

Sanjeev K Singh

Anthony DiStasio

Alexander Paraskos

Ashok Surapaneni

Anthony R Di Stasio

Barry Fishburn

Hongwei Qui

Chris Pizzo

Daniel Zaloga

Ruslan Mudryy

Eugene Homentowski

A method for manufacturing nano-sized insensitive high explosive molding powder usable as a booster HE is provided herein. The method preferably involving the steps of dissolving a binder in a liquid and suspending crystalline high explosive to said liquid, grinding that suspension in a bead mill until the crystalline high explosive is nano-sized, and precipitating the binder and crystalline high explosive using a spray dryer to produce granules containing nano-sized crystalline high explosive. The liquid may be water or an organic solvent so long as the binder is highly soluble in the liquid and the crystalline high explosive is generally insoluble in the liquid. A fatty alcohol, water defoaming/dispersant/surfactant agent can be added to the dissolved binder/suspended crystalline high explosive, to aid in the manufacturability.

Bead milled spray dried nano-explosive

Stabilized, amorphous high energetic compositions having crystallization inhibiting polymers dispersed throughout the solid composition. The compositions disclosed herein are an improvement over crystalline high energetic compositions in that such disclosed compositions are stable and possess physical properties desirable in propellant and high explosive applications.

Amorphous energetics

A method for the manufacture of stable amorphous secondary explosives and combinations thereof&#x2014;wherein the stability is enhanced with the addition of a polymeric additives and can be further enhanced with mechanical compression of the amorphous material.

Method for manufacture of amorphous energetics

A single-step method for preparing nano-sized cocrystals of explosive material by preparing a coformer solution having an explosive precursor dissolved into a liquid medium and a second explosive precursor dispersed in the liquid medium. The viscosity and solubility of the coformer solution may be modified by addition of binders, plasticizers, surfactants and anti-foaming agents to the coformer solution. The coformer solution is then milled to mechanically form the cocrystals. Further milling produces the desired cocrystal sizes.

Single-step production method for nano-sized energetic cocrystals by bead milling and products thereof

A method of manufacturing a CL-20/HMX cocrystalline explosive which is coated in a polymeric binder, so as to be useful as an explosive molding powder. The cocrystalline material having a desirable average crystal size of from about 300 nm to about 1000 nm, which crystals are intimately coated with a polymeric binder and are produced as granular agglomerates that are less than on average 5 microns in size, and which crystals are relatively easy and safe to handle, transport, store and use. The method involving spray drying a CL-20 and HMX solvent solution containing a polymeric binder to form an intermediary amorphous material&#x2014;which intermediary is then heated to cocrystallize the CL-20/HMX into the desired size cocrystals and aggregates thereof&#x2014;which are coated in said polymeric binder.

Nanoscale cocrystalline explosives

A safe and simple method for synthesizing insensitive nano-size cocrystals of high explosive materials such as HMX and Cl-20 by suspending the explosive materials in a nonsolvent solution and bead milling the solution.

An effective, safe and economical method of manufacture of an insensitive high explosive molding powder usable as a booster HE. The method preferably involving the steps of adding a binder and a crystalline high explosive to water, grinding that suspension in a bead mill until the crystalline high explosive is nano-sized, and precipitating the binder and crystalline high explosive using a spray dryer. Alternatively, an aqueous suspension of the crystalline high explosive can be ground in the bead mill and the binder subsequently added, prior to spray drying. A fatty alcohol, water defoaming/dispersant/surfactant agent can be added to the dissolved binder/suspended crystalline high explosive, to aid in the manufacturability.

Bead milled spray dried nano-explosives

Moldable explosives containing chlorinated and/or fluorinated oils and waxes are described which exhibit significant energetic characteristics while at the same time possessing desirable IM character. Such moldable explosives are potential replacements for the C4 compositions known and used in the art.

Moldable explosives formulated with chlorinated waxes and oils

A test assembly for building a safety profile and a sensitivity profile of an explosive, by impacting the test assembly with a projectile. The safety profile of the explosive is built by determining a detonation threshold of the explosive in reaction to the projectile. The sensitivity profile is built by measuring a pressure difference between pressures acquired by the top sensor and the bottom sensor, resulting from a shock wave that travels through the explosive.

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Parsippany, NJ, United States of America

Rajen B Patel