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Switchable Explosives: Performance Tuning of Fluid-Activated High Explosive Architectures

Cameron B. Brown, Alexander H. Mueller, Seetharaman Sridhar, Joseph P. Lichthardt, Andrew M. Schmalzer, Bryce C. Tappan, Von H. Whitley, Larry G. Hill, Eduardo Lozano, and Tariq D. Aslam
Phys. Rev. Lett. 130, 116105 – Published 17 March 2023
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Abstract

We present our discovery of switchable high explosives (HEs) as a new class of energetic material that cannot detonate unless filled with a fluid. The performance of fluid-filled additive-manufactured HE lattices is herein evaluated by analysis of detonation velocity and Gurney energy. The Gurney energy of the unfilled lattice was 98% lower than that of the equivalent water-filled lattice and changing the fluid mechanical properties allowed tuning of the Gurney energy and detonation velocity by 8.5% and 13.4%, respectively. These results provide, for the first time since the development of HEs, a method to completely remove the hazard of unplanned detonations during storage and transport.

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  • Received 21 September 2022
  • Revised 17 January 2023
  • Accepted 2 February 2023

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.130.116105

Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article’s title, journal citation, and DOI.

Published by the American Physical Society

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Condensed Matter, Materials & Applied Physics

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“Off Switch” Makes Explosives Safer

Published 17 March 2023

An explosive material fabricated with a highly porous structure is inactive but is easily “switched on” when filled with water.

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Authors & Affiliations

Cameron B. Brown1,2, Alexander H. Mueller1,*, Seetharaman Sridhar2,3, Joseph P. Lichthardt1, Andrew M. Schmalzer1, Bryce C. Tappan1, Von H. Whitley4, Larry G. Hill1, Eduardo Lozano5, and Tariq D. Aslam5

  • 1Q-5, High Explosive Science and Technology, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545, USA
  • 2Colorado School of Mines, Golden, Colorado 80401, USA
  • 3Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona 85287-7805, USA
  • 4XTD-SS, Safety and Surety, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545, USA
  • 5T-1, Physics and Chemistry of Materials, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545, USA

  • *Corresponding author. amueller@lanl.gov

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Issue

Vol. 130, Iss. 11 — 17 March 2023

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