Methods of forming a sensitized explosive and a percussion primer
View Patent ↗A sensitized explosive that comprises an explosive precipitated onto a sensitizer. The explosive is CL-20, PETN, RDX, HMX, or mixtures thereof and the sensitizer is aluminum, titanium, zirconium, magnesium, melamine, styrene, lithium aluminum hydride, or mixtures thereof. The sensitized explosive is used in a percussion primer that includes a bismuth compound and a melt binder. The bismuth compound is bismuth oxide, bismuth subnitrate, bismuth tetroxide, bismuth sulfide, or mixtures thereof and the melt binder is a wax having a melting point above ambient temperature, trinitrotoluene, poly(3,3-bis(azidomethyl)oxetane), poly(3-azidomethyl-3-methyloxetane), ethyl-3,5-dinitrobenzoate, or mixtures thereof. A gun cartridge and other primer-containing ordnance assemblies employing the percussion primer are also disclosed. Methods of forming the sensitized explosive and the percussion primer are also disclosed.
1. A method of preparing a sensitized explosive, comprising:
dissolving an explosive selected from the group consisting of 2,4,6,8,10,12-hexanitro-2,4,6,8,10,12-hexaazatetracyclo[5.5.0.0 5,9 0 3,11 ]-dodecane (“CL-20”), pentaerythritol tetranitrate (“PETN”), cyclo-1,3,5-trimethylene-2,4,6-trinitramine (“RDX”), and cyclotetramethylene tetranitramine (“HMX”) in a solvent to form a solution comprising the explosive;
adding a sensitizer selected from the group consisting of aluminum, aluminum oxide, titanium, zirconium, magnesium, boron, silicon, melamine, styrene, lithium aluminum hydride, calcium silicide, and mixtures thereof to the solution comprising the explosive to form a slurry; and
removing the solvent from the slurry to precipitate the explosive onto the sensitizer.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein adding a sensitizer to the solution comprising the explosive to form a slurry comprises adding the sensitizer in a nonsolvent to the solution comprising the explosive.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein dissolving an explosive in a solvent comprises dissolving the explosive in a polar organic solvent selected from the group consisting of ethyl acetate, acetone, and mixtures thereof.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein removing the solvent from the slurry to precipitate the explosive onto the sensitizer comprises forming crystals of the sensitized explosive.
5. The method of claim 4 , wherein forming crystals of the sensitized explosive comprises forming crystals of the sensitized explosive having an average particle size ranging from approximately 1.0 μm to approximately 100 μm.
6. A method of forming a percussion primer, comprising:
dissolving an explosive in a solvent to form a solution comprising the explosive;
adding a sensitizer to the solution comprising the explosive;
removing the solvent to precipitate a sensitized explosive; and
combining the sensitized explosive with a bismuth compound and a melt binder.
7. The method of claim 6 , wherein adding a sensitizer to the solution comprising the explosive comprises adding a sensitizer having a particle size ranging from approximately 0.1 μm to approximately 100 μm to the solution comprising the explosive.
8. The method of claim 6 , wherein dissolving an explosive in a solvent to form a solution comprising the explosive comprises dissolving the explosive in a polar organic solvent selected from the group consisting of ethyl acetate, acetone, and mixtures thereof.
9. The method of claim 6 , wherein removing the solvent to precipitate a sensitized explosive comprises forming crystals of the sensitized explosive.
10. The method of claim 6 , wherein combining the sensitized explosive with a bismuth compound and a melt binder comprises combining the sensitized explosive with a bismuth compound selected from the group consisting of bismuth oxide, bismuth subnitrate, bismuth tetroxide, bismuth sulfide, and mixtures thereof.
11. The method of claim 6 , wherein combining the sensitized explosive with a bismuth compound and a melt binder comprises combining the sensitized explosive with a melt binder selected from the group consisting of a wax having a melting point above ambient temperature, trinitrotoluene, poly(3,3-bis(azidomethyl)oxetane), poly(3-azidomethyl-3-methyl-oxetane), ethyl-3,5-dinitrobenzoate, 1,3,3-trinitroazetine, natural gums, and mixtures thereof.
12. A method of forming a percussion primer, comprising:
combining a solution comprising an explosive and an organic solvent with a slurry comprising a sensitizer and a nonsolvent;
removing the organic solvent and the nonsolvent to co-precipitate the explosive and the sensitizer;
combining the co-precipitated explosive and sensitizer with a bismuth compound, a melt binder, and water or a nonpolar organic solvent; and
removing the water or nonpolar organic solvent.
13. The method of claim 12 , wherein combining the co-precipitated explosive and sensitizer with a bismuth compound, a melt binder, and water or a nonpolar organic solvent comprises combining the co-precipitated explosive and sensitizer with the bismuth compound, the melt binder, and a nonpolar organic solvent selected from the group consisting of hexane, heptane, octane, and combinations thereof.
14. A method of forming a percussion primer, comprising:
combining a solution comprising an explosive and an organic solvent with a slurry comprising a sensitizer and a nonsolvent;
combining a bismuth compound, a melt binder, and water or a nonpolar organic solvent with the solution comprising the explosive and the organic solvent and the slurry comprising the sensitizer and the nonsolvent; and
removing the organic solvent, the nonsolvent, and the water or nonpolar organic solvent.
15. A method of preparing a sensitized explosive, comprising:
dissolving an explosive selected from the group consisting of 2,4,6,8,10,12-hexanitro-2,4,6,8,10,12-hexaazatetracyclo[5.5.0.0 5,9 0 3,11 ]-dodecane (“CL-20”), pentaerythritol tetranitrate (“PETN”), cyclo-1,3,5-trimethylene-2,4,6-trinitramine (“RDX”), and cyclotetramethylene tetranitramine (“HMX”) in a solvent to form a solution;
adding a sensitizer selected from the group consisting of aluminum, aluminum oxide, titanium, zirconium, magnesium, boron, silicon, melamine, styrene, lithium aluminum hydride, calcium silicide, and mixtures thereof to the solution to form a slurry; and
removing the solvent from the slurry to precipitate the explosive onto the sensitizer to form a sensitized explosive, the sensitized explosive comprising from approximately 70% by weight to approximately 99.5% by weight of the explosive and from approximately 0.5% by weight to approximately 30% by weight of the sensitizer.
16. The method of claim 1 , wherein dissolving an explosive comprises dissolving one of CL-20, RDX, and HMX in the solvent to form the solution.
17. The method of claim 1 , wherein removing the solvent from the slurry to precipitate the explosive onto the sensitizer comprises evaporating the solvent to precipitate the explosive onto the sensitizer.
18. The method of claim 1 , wherein dissolving an explosive in a solvent comprises dissolving the explosive in ethyl acetate.
19. The method of claim 10 , wherein combining the sensitized explosive with a bismuth compound comprises combining the sensitized explosive with bismuth subnitrate, bismuth tetroxide, bismuth sulfide, or mixtures thereof.
20. The method of claim 11 , wherein combining the sensitized explosive with a melt binder comprises combining the sensitized explosive with the wax having a melting point above ambient temperature, trinitrotoluene, poly(3,3-bis(azidomethyl)oxetane), poly(3-azidomethyl-3-methyl-oxetane), ethyl-3,5-dinitrobenzoate, 1,3,3-trinitroazetine, or mixtures thereof.