Growth of Creamed TNT on Thermal Cycling

Abstract

Growth or irreversible thermal expansion of creamed TNT on thermal cycling is described. Growth of TNT charges appears to correlate with the quantity of impurities present, and increases linearly with the maximum temperature expereienced in a manner which suggests the existence of a critical upper temperature which must be exceeded for any growth to occur. This temperature is close to the eutectic temperature for a ternary mixture of 2,4,6- TNT, 2,3,4-TNT and 2,4-DNT. On the basis of these results and changes in the external appearance of TNT specimens subjected to thermal cycling, a 'ratchet' mechanism to account for growth is proposed, in which the stresses generated by anisotropic thermal expansion of TNT are relieved above the eutectic temperature by a mass transfer process such as grain boundary sliding or dynamic recrystallisation.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jul 01, 1978
Accession Number
ADA066536

Entities

People

  • Robert P. Parker
  • William S. Wilson

Organizations

  • Defence Science and Technology Group

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Counter IED
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Abstracts
  • Artillery Ammunition
  • Australia
  • Boundaries
  • Composite Materials
  • Crystal Structure
  • Crystals
  • Engineering
  • Explosives
  • Grain Boundaries
  • Impurities
  • Mass Transfer
  • Materials
  • Materials Laboratories
  • Materials Science
  • Stresses
  • Thermal Expansion

Readers

  • Agricultural Chemistry/Soil Science
  • Materials Science (Mechanical Engineering).
  • Thermal Physics or Thermal Science.