Convective burning and detonability of aluminum-rich ammonium perchlorate-aluminum-nitromethane mixtures: 1. Experiment

The initiation and propagation of low-velocity detonation in ammonium perchlorate (AP)-aluminum-nitromethane (NM) mixtures with Al: AP ratios of 1: 1 to 2.5: 1 and porosities from 40 (10 wt % HM) to 0% (40 wt % NM) in strong steel shells (in the air) and plastic shells submerged in water are experimentally studied. The optimum contents of the components that provide reliable initiation of steady detonation (at velocities from 2 to 5 km/s) by weak explosive sources in mixtures with an Al: AP ratio of 1: 1 and above are determined. The selected mixtures reproducibly detonate in plastic shells surrounded by a 30-cm-thick layer of water at velocities somewhat lower than in strong steel shells in the air.