Pyrometry in the reaction zone of petn and rdxbased. Unless the reaction occurs rapidly, the thermally expanded gases will be dissipated in the medium, and there will be no explosion. The physical and explosive properties of erythritol tetranitrate etn are described herein. Explosives usually have less potential energy than fuels, but their high rate of energy release produces a great blast pressure. How to make semtex semtex is a powerful explosive that is widely used by terrorists.
Rdx is an organic compound with the formula o 2 nnch 2 3. Epx1 explosive contains pentaerythritol tetranitrate petn with different particle size as explosive filler bonded by nonenergetic thermoplastic binder plasticized by dibutyl phthalate dbp. Pentaerythritol tetranitrate, or petn, is a major ingredient of semtex and belongs to the same chemical family as nitroglycerin. The chemistry of explosives provides an overview of the history of explosives, taking the reader to future developments. The petn reaction will be examined as an example of thermo chemical. Study shows why common explosive petn sometimes fails by sandia national laboratories sandia researchers alex tappan left and rob knepper watch the detonation of a critical thickness experiment. Also under development are studies on the adhesion and collection of particles by swiping and airjet harvesting methods. If the reaction proceeds slowly, the released energy will be dissipated and there will be few noticeable effects other than an increase in temperature. In this paper, the production method of epx1 was described. Chemically, it is classified as a nitramide, chemically similar to hmx. The explosive properties of pentaerythritol tetranitrate petn, cch 2 ono 2 4 have been studied thoroughly both experimentally 12345678 9 and theoretically. The petn acetone mix is then filtered and poured into a beaker containing 600ml of ice cold water, causing the petn to precipitate to the bottom as fine crystals. Chapter i properties of explosives an explosive is a.
Pentaerythritol tetranitrate is an extremely powerful plastic explosive. Trace detection of rdx, hmx and petn explosives using a. Jan 01, 2010 what marine recruits go through in boot camp earning the title making marines on parris island duration. It is a key, directly measurable indicator of explosive performance, but depends on density which must always be specified, and may be too low if the. Computational organic chemistry sipetn sensitivity explained. Bassett, w p, johnson, b p, salvati iii, l, and dlott, d d. A new method of preparing the high explosive rdx journal of the. After settling, excess water and acetone are decanted and the remaining petn can be filtered out after filtering, the petn was put on a small petri plate and dried. Revised and expanded to reflect new developments in the field, this book outlines the basic principles required to understand the chemical processes of explosives. Rapidity of reaction 22 distinguishes the explosive reaction from an ordinary combustion reaction by the great speed with which it takes place. The text on the classification of explosive materials contains much data on the physical parameters of primary. Examples of nitrating agents for the manufacture of explosives picric acid 7.
This looks as if it was carelessly edited down from some more detailed text. Ignition and growth modeling of detonation reaction zone. Other novel approaches to explosive detection are considered in chapter 7. Many substances not ordinarily classed as explosives may do one, or even two, of these things. Nov 01, 2010 the explosive substance used in the air freight bomb plot was cleverly concealed inside a printer cartridge within a package, making it very difficult to detect. Table of explosive detonation velocities wikipedia. Nov 01, 2010 pentaerythritol tetranitrate is an extremely powerful plastic explosive. Classification of explosive composition by nitration reaction a summary of the nitration techniques for some military and commercial explosives is presented in table 7. Explosive materials may be categorized by the speed at which they expand.
Pyrometry in the reaction zone of petn and rdxbased polymer bound explosives. Tnt has a detonation velocity of 6,940 ms compared to 1,680 ms for the. Pentaerythritol tetranitrate petn is an explosive used as the primary ingredient in detonating fuses and as a component in some plastic explosives. Pentaerythritol tetranitrate an overview sciencedirect. Explosive reactions there are many chemical reactions that will release energy. The white powder is popular with extremists because it is available on the black market and very difficult to detect at. The committee produced a list of selected explosives incidents, both realized and thwarted, starting with the 1970 sterling hall bombing at the university of wisconsin table 21.
Nitration plays an important role in the preparation of explosives. Study shows why common explosive petn sometimes fails. What marine recruits go through in boot camp earning the title making marines on parris island duration. Use the reaction in problem 1 to calculate the mass of petn in kg required to produce the same amount of energy as that produced when one microgram 1. The commercially important explosive pentaerythritol tetranitrate is produced by direct reaction of. Explosives detection an overview sciencedirect topics. A mixture of 50% petn and 50% tnt is called pentolite. The three explosives used, rdx, hmx and petn, are white. Shock initiation experiments were performed on the plastic bonded explosive pbx lx04 85% hmx, 15% viton binder using single and multiple low amplitude shocks to obtain pressure history data for use in ignition and growth reactive flow modeling parameterization. Jan 10, 2010 12292009 cnn examination of petn explosive. As a nitrate ester, petn is structurally similar to nitroglycerin in its pharmacological vasodilatory and explosive properties.
It is a key, directly measurable indicator of explosive performance, but depends on density which must always be specified, and may be too low if the test charge diameter is not. The effect of temperature on the rate of a chemical reaction. Petn, abbreviation of pentaerythritol tetranitrate, a highly explosive organic compound belonging to the same chemical family as nitroglycerin and nitrocellulose petn has the chemical formula c 5 h 8 n 4 o 12. For example, semtex is a blend of cyclomethylenetrinitramine rdx and petn. It is prepared by reacting pentaerythritol c 5 h 12 o 4, an alcohol traditionally used in paints and varnishes, with nitric acid hno 2. With this alcohol the sprengstoff ag koln invited 1894 the petn explosive with the already shown reaction between salpetric acid and the alcohol pentaerythrit. Petn is a powerful explosive material with a relative effectiveness.
The alcohol which is necesarry to create petn was first invented 1891 from berhard tollens and peter wigand throught basic condensation. For example, the most commonly used military and commercial explosive compounds such as tnt, rdx, nitroglycerine, petn, etc. Terrorists may have used hardtodetect plasticbased explosive petn in wednesdays delhi high court blast the same substance used in the underwear bomb plot on a 2009 northwest airlines flight. Petn is difficult to detonate with a naked flame, as demonstrated by the shoe bomber richard reid, who tried to bring down an american airlines flight in 2001 with petn concealed in one of his boots.
As powders do not readily hold a shape and tnt is the only common meltcastable explosive, most of the. Oct 30, 2010 pentaerythritol tetranitrate, or petn, is a major ingredient of semtex and belongs to the same chemical family as nitroglycerin. Penta refers to the five carbon atoms of the neopentane skeleton. A chemical explosive is a compound or mixture which, upon the application of heat or shock, decomposes or rearranges with extreme rapidity, yielding much gas and heat. Explosive properties of erythritol tetranitrate request pdf. There are many chemical reactions that will release energy. The explosive substance used in the air freight bomb plot was cleverly concealed inside a printer cartridge within a package, making it. The vast majority of explosives are chemical explosives. Upon detonation, tnt undergoes a decomposition equivalent to the reaction.
Chemical explosives the main purpose of any warhead is to inflict damage on the target. Thermal decomposition of pentaerythritol tetranitrate. How to make petn, the same explosive used by the christmas day terrorist on the internet now. Petn is a very powerful explosive and often used in the explosive core of detonation det cord, used to. Petn is a valued weapon in terrorist bombings, because of its explosive power, its ability to be molded and fitted into unusual packages, and the difficulty of detecting the organic compound with. The way the damage is caused may vary with different types of warheads, but in the most general sense, damage is caused by the transfer of energy from the warhead to the target.
Detonation velocity is the speed with which the detonation shock wave travels through the explosive. A chemical reaction which proceeds through the material at a rate less than or equal to the speed of. The text on the classification of explosive materials contains much data on the. The silicon analogue sich 2 ono 2 3 is extraordinarily sensitive, exploding at the touch of a spatula. Trinitrotoluene or more specifically 2,4,6trinitrotoluene, is a chemical compound with the. The soldier and the industrial base, a textbook of military medicine. It is prepared by reacting pentaerythritol c5h12o4, an alcohol traditionally used in paints and varnishes, with nitric acid hno2. Pentaerythritol tetranitrate petn, also known as pent, penta, ten, corpent, or penthrite or, rarely and primarily in german, as nitropenta, is an explosive material. A more energetic explosive than tnt, it was used widely in world war ii and remains common in military applications it is often used in mixtures with other explosives and. Current trends in explosive detection techniques j. Pentaerythritol tetranitrate c 5 h 8 n 4 o 1 2 petn was. Sep 20, 2012 study shows why common explosive petn sometimes fails by sandia national laboratories sandia researchers alex tappan left and rob knepper watch the detonation of a critical thickness experiment. For many warheads that energy is stored in the form of chemical explosives.
Pyrometry in the reaction zone of petn and rdxbased polymer. Although the chemical structure of etn is simple and its preparation is. Although the chemical structure of etn is simple and its preparation is undemanding, this explosive is. The white powder is popular with extremists because it is available on. Petn cch 2 ono 2 3 is a relatively insensitive explosive. Pentaerythritol tetranitrate an overview sciencedirect topics. Explosive petn used in attack december 26, 2009 12. Under explosive use, the third paragraph begins during the second world war, petn was most importantly used in exploding bridgewire detonator for the atomic bombs. Pentaerythritol tetranitrate c 5 h 8 n 4 o 1 2 petn. It is used as a booster explosive for harder to detonate explosives like ammonium nitrate based mixtures. Chemical explosive reaction a chemical explosive is a compound or mixture which, upon the application of heat or shock, decomposes or rearranges with extreme rapidity, yielding much gas and heat. Use the reaction in problem 51 to calculate the mass of petn in kg required to produce the same amount of energy as that produced when one microgram 1.
Detonation reaction zone measurements have been made on five rdxbased explosives 60 mum average particle size rdx, containing 6percent polymer binder and from 0 to 19percent aluminum of different particle size from 2 mum to 20 mum. It is one of the most powerful explosives made today and is. Materials that detonate the front of the chemical reaction moves faster through the material than the speed of sound are said to be high explosives and materials that deflagrate are said to be low explosives. Petn is a powerful explosive material with a relative. The addition of an explosive ingredient, such as tnt, in sufficient quantity. Equilibria and kinetics of explosive reactions the thermochemistry of explosive compositions has been discussed in detail in chapter 5. Pentolite can be cast like tnt, and is more stable than pure petn, while still having a detonation velocity between 7,400 and 7,800 meters per second. The kistiakowskywilson and the springall roberts rules both give an approximate estimate for the products of decomposition, which is independent of the temperature of explosion.
It is a white solid without smell or taste, widely used as an explosive. Petn is an explosive chemical that is currently used as the primary ingredient in detonating fuses and as a component mixed with hexahydro1,2,5trinitro1,3,4triazine in plastic explosives. The equation for burning black powder is stated in the book the hemistry of fireworks by michael russell as being. Pentaerythritol tetranitrate c 5 h 8 n 4 o 12 petn was the explosive meant to be used by the underwear bomber. Standardized plant used for the manufacture of dyes was converted for the production of explosives with remarkable speed.
Read reducing the threat of improvised explosive device. An explosive or explosive material is a reactive substance that contains a great amount of potential energy that can produce an explosion if released suddenly, usually accompanied by the production of light, heat, sound, and pressure. Terrorists may have used hardtodetect plasticbased explosive petn in wednesdays delhi high court blast the same substance used in the underwear bomb. Petn, short for pentaerythritol trinitrate, is a widely available and easily detected chemical explosive that has a long history of terrorist use. This is a compilation of published detonation velocities for various high explosive compounds. Epx1 is a new plastic explosive in the research stage which has been prepared for military and civilian applications.
An explosive is a material, cither a pure single substance or. Petn is often mixed with another chemical explosives tnt trinitro toluene and rdx to obtain powerful explosives used in grenades and warheads. It is the nitrate ester of pentaerythritol, and is structurally very similar to nitroglycerin. Goddard employed mo6 computations to explore five different possible decomposition pathways, shown in scheme 1. Petn, a highly explosive organic compound belonging to the same chemical family as nitroglycerin and nitrocellulose. An explosive charge is a measured quantity of explosive material, which may either be composed solely of one ingredient or be a mixture. Nitration is a chemical reaction by which nitro no 2 groups are introduced into organic compounds. The text on the classification of explosive materials contains much data on the physical parameters of primary and secondary explosives. Characteristics of a new plastic explosive named epx1. By the way, this makes it extremely illadvised as an explosive its way too dangerous.
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