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    The Thermal and Microstructural Effect of Plasticizing HMX-Nitrocellulose Composites

    Year: 2018

    Journal: J. Energ. Mater., Volume 36, page 13–28

    Authors: Yeager, John D.; Watkins, Erik B.; Duque, Amanda L. Higginbotham; Majewski, Jaroslaw

    Organizations: DOE Office of Basic Energy Sciences; National Nuclear Security Administration Science Campaign 2

    Keywords: HMX; neutron reflectometry; PBX; phase transformation

    Thermal ignition via self-heating (cook-off) of cyclotetramethylene-tetrani-tramine (HMX)-containing plastic-bonded explosives (PBXs) is driven by the beta -> delta phase transition in the HMX, which is affected if not dominated by microstructure. Here, the HMX-binder interface and phase transition were studied for several variations of PBX 9404 (HMX with plasticized nitrocellulose [NC] binder). Neutron reflectometry was used to examine the interface under several conditions-pristine, after aging, and after thermal treatment. The initial interfacial structure depended on the plasticizer, but the interface homogenized over time. Thermal and optical analyses showed that all formulated materials had higher transition temperatures than neat HMX. This effect increased with NC content.
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