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Determination of Shock Initiation and Detonation Characteristics of PE4 in Proof Test Geometries

report Miscellaneous Citation | Accession Number: ADA164484 | report Open PDF

Abstract:

PE4 is a white, soft plastic explosive. It is the standard service explosive for demolition and explosive ordnance disposal. The basic ingredients are RDX grade B boiled and milled - 88 Plasticizer PE4 grease - 11 Pentaerythritol di-oleate, PEDO - 1. Various shock initiation and detonation properties relevant to the detonation proof testing of PE4 are reported and used to assess the results of a survey of over 450 proof tests on production PE4 for the five year period up to 1981. Conclusions from the investigation include high moisture content can cause failures large variations in plasticizer content up to double do not cause failures voids in the PE4 adjacent to and under the detonator do not cause failure a void across the complete diameter of the PE4 test sample adjacent to the steel plate can cause partial failures the L2A1 detonator has more than sufficient power to detonate the PE4 full detonation is achieved within the PE4 and the test geometry is several orders of magnitude greater than the critical diameter to support detonation. Keywords Plastic explosives RDX Sensitivity Shock Detonation. Australia

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