Home – Home – Jornals – Combustion, Explosion and Shock Waves 2015 number 4

An explosive mixture of cyclotrimethylenetrinitramine (RDX) and titanium hydride (TiH₂) is introduced. To investigate the explosion characteristics of the composite explosive, charges with various contents of the TiH₂ powder are prepared and tested in air explosion experiments. Results show that the peak overpressure, positive duration, and positive specific impulse increase as the content of TiH₂ increases from 10 to 20%, as compared to passivated RDX. The peak overpressure, duration, and specific impulse have the largest increase of 6, 9, and 23%, respectively, as compared to passivated RDX, when the TiH₂ content is 20%. The effect of the TiH₂ particle size is also considered. The charge containing the TiH₂ powder with a mean particle size of 4.6 mm shows higher values of the three parameters than that containing 45-mm TiH₂ particles under the condition of the same content of TiH₂. However, the relationship between the detonation velocity and TiH₂ content is a linear inverse proportion, and the particle size of TiH₂ has a minor effect on it. Solid explosion products of the TiH₂/RDX composite explosive are analyzed by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDX). TiO₂ is found in explosion products, which is believed to form due to TiH₂ oxidation.