Aldringsstudier III : PBXN-109 med RS-RDX aldret i 6 mnd ved 60 grader C

Abstract

Dry RS-RDX (Reduced Sensitivity) crystals produced by Dyno Nobel have been stored at 60oC for 6 months before they were used to produce PBXN-109. The storage was performed due to questions have been asked about the stability of RS-RDX with regard to retain its low shock sensitivity during ageing. We have used two different RS-RDX class 1 charges to test if shock sensitivity in Intermediate Scale Gap test does depend on the age of the crystals. PBXN-109 containing RS-RDX aged at 60oC for 6 months gave two different results in Intermediate Scale Gap test. For the first charge, a reduction in sensitivity of 2-3 cards was obtained. For the second one an increase in sensitivity with 2-3 cards was observed. Both results compared with the properties of PBXN-109 from virgin RDX of the same charges. Average critical diameter for PBXN-109 containing aged RS-RDX was for one RDX charges unchanged and for the other slightly smaller compared to PBXN-109 containing virgin RS-RDX. However, the changes in critical diameter were much smaller than the internal variation within a series of 5 shots. PBXN-109 containing aged RS-RDX does not change properties with regard to shock sensitivity or critical diameter due to ageing of RS-RDX. Observed changes in properties of PBXN-109 must have other explanations than that ageing of the RS-RDX changes the properties.