TIME TO EXPLOSION FOR AN EXPLOSIVE SUBJECTED EXTERNALLY TO ELEVATED TEMPERATURES
Abstract
The most important knowledge required in the calculation of time to explosion for an explosive subjected to an elevated temperature is the kinetics of thermal decomposition of the explosive. This study of models used in computing times to explosion showed that activation energy, frequency factor, type of kinetic expression, and their interrelationships transcend in importance all other physical and chemical properties of the explosive. Two mathematical models which describe heat conduction in an explosive accompanied by simultaneous internal generation of heat from thermal decomposition of the explosive were studied. The boundary and initial conditions for one model were such that an infinite slab of explosive of finite thickness, initially at a constant temperature, was suddenly exposed to a constant temperature on its lower surface while its upper surface was perfectly insulated. Zinn and Mader's correlation of the solutions to this problem (Ref 8) was used in the study of this model. The other model was that of a semiinfinite solid initially at a constant temperature which suddenly has its surface exposed to an elevated constant temperature. G. B. Cook's correlation of the solutions to this model (Ref 2) was studied. Both models used zero-order kinetics to describe predetonation decomposition.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 01, 1965
- Accession Number
- AD0459649
Entities
People
- Fred P. Stein
Organizations
- Picatinny Arsenal