Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Table 7.3 The effect of ethylenediamine content on the detonation sensitivity of nitromethane [
1
]
Ethylenediamine
content
Diameter of plastic
tube/mm
Detonation experiment (pressure
needed for 50 % explosion)/GPa
V
L
/
ml
×
100
Explosion
No
explosion
0
24
21
3.4
400
1
4
2.5
2.6
350
5
2.5 (1.2)
-
1.9
305
10
1.6
275
-
-
20
1.3
235
-
-
As illustrated in Table
7.3
, adding 1 % of ethylenediamine into nitromethane can
signi
cantly increase its detonation sensitivity. When the content of ethylenedia-
mine reaches 5 %, however, even a thin layer liquid with a thickness of 1.2 mm
(data shown in parentheses) can be detonated to afford stable explosion. In the
presence of basic or acidic substances, nitromethane can partially convert to its acid
form that is supposedly more sensitive than regular nitroalkanes, which certainly
would improve its sensitivity of detonation [
34
,
35
]. However, one must note that
adding ethylenediamine can substantially reduce the explosive power of
nitromethane.
7.1.1.3 Detonation Properties of the Mixture of Nitromethane
and Dichloromethane
Adding dichloromethane to nitromethane can reduce its freezing point. Particularly,
adding 2
12 % of diethylenetriamine (NH
2
C
2
H
4
NHC
2
H
4
NH
2
) as a sensitizer can
produce liquid explosive mixture suitable to low temperature usage [
35
]. For
example, when 2
-
12 % diethylenetriamine was added into the mixture of nitro-
methane and dichloromethane (70/30), the explosive mixture does not freeze at
−
-
°
40
C and still can transmit detonation in a stable manner. When 10
-
12 % of
diethylenetriamine was employed,
the explosive mixture can detonate even at
C. Table
7.4
showed the detonation properties of the mixture of nitro-
methane and dichloromethane (70/30) with 2 % sensitizer.
51.1
°
−
Table 7.4 Detonation properties of the mixture of nitromethane and dichloromethane (70/30)
with 2 % diethylenetriamine
Experiments
Results
Detonation velocity at
40
°
C(
ˆ
32 mm)
5,312 m/s
−
Friction and impact sensitivity at
−
40
°
C
Negative (no explosion)
Friction and impact sensitivity at ambient temperature
Negative (no explosion)
Limiting diameter at
40
°
C
32 mm
−
