The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Apr. 16, 1991
Filed:
Oct. 12, 1989
Richard E Trapp, Salt Lake City, UT (US);
Gary L Hansen, Salt Lake City, UT (US);
Robert B Clay, Bountiful, UT (US);
Lawrence J Dubetsky, Tamaqua, PA (US);
Robert S Olney, Bethlehem, PA (US);
Atlas Powder Company, Dallas, TX (US);
Abstract
A multicomponent explosive composition and its use as a blasting agent in ditching operations and the like. The explosive comprises a fuel component and an oxidizer compnent, both of which are retained in the liquid state over wide temperature ranges and are stable over long storage intervals. The fuel component comprises a suspension of a particulate metal fuel, specifically aluminum, in a carrier liquid formed of a mixture of a water-miscible polyhydric alcohol and a pyrrolidone solvent. The carrier liquid contains a thickening agent to provide thixotropic rheological properties such that the particulate metal fuel remains in suspension at rest, but with shear forces induced by pumping, the components become more fluid for mixing and pumping easily. The oxidizer component comprises an aqueous solution of an inorganic oxidizer salt. The oxidizer solution contains void-containing materials such as glass or saran microbubbles. The void-containing materials may be suspended in the fuel component also. The fuel and oxidizer components are stored in separate reservoirs and transported to the location of the detonation site. The components are separately metered from their respective reservoirs and supplied to a static mixing zone where they are mixed together.