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Effect of different proportions of Mg(BH4)2/Al on thermal decomposition of RDX

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Abstract

In order to study the effect of aluminum powder and Mg(BH4)2 on the thermal safety of energetic materials, the mixtures that RDX mixed with different proportions of Al/Mg(BH4)2 were produced by using the molding powder method. The thermal decomposition curves of mixed explosives were obtained by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and adiabatic accelerated calorimetry (ARC), the kinetic parameters were calculated, and the risk of the thermal runaway was evaluated. The following main conclusions were drawn. Under the premise of a certain RDX quality, the decomposition heat of adding the same mass of Al is 1.15 times that of adding the same mass of Mg(BH4)2. Adding Mg(BH4)2 alone will reduce the thermal stability of RDX, while adding Al/Mg(BH4)2 mixture will improve the thermal stability of RDX. The mass ratio of Al/Mg(BH4)2 is less than 2:1, which can improve the performance of mixed explosives to a certain extent, and the mixed explosive as a whole achieve better thermal safety. This study provides important information for improving the safety of storage, transportation, and use of RDX-based mixed explosives.

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Abbreviations

DSC:

Differential scanning calorimetry

ARC:

Adiabatic accelerated calorimetry

ICTAC:

International confederation for thermal analysis and calorimetry

TMRad :

Time to maximum reaction rate under adiabatic condition

T on :

Temperature of the initial reaction, K

T off :

Temperature of the end reaction, K

∆H :

Reaction enthalpy, J g−1

β :

Heating rate, K min−1

T p :

Peak temperature of the exothermic peak, K

R :

Ideal gas constant, J·mol−1 K−1

E :

Apparent activation energy, J mol−1

A :

Denotes pre-exponential factor, s−1

r :

Correlation coefficients

∆T ad :

Adiabatic temperature rise, °C

∆H r :

Specific heat release, J g−1

∆T ad * :

Adiabatic temperature rise corrected by ф

∆Hr * :

Modified specific heat release corrected by ф

C p :

Specific heat capacity, J g−1 °C−1

V':

Specific gas yield of the sample, mL g−1

P 1 :

Pressure in the heating stage at the same temperature, bar

P 2 :

Pressure in the cooling stage at the same temperature, bar

P 0 :

Normal pressure, 1.01 bar

T 0 :

Normal temperature, 25 °C

T :

Selected temperature for calculation of gas production, °C

m :

Sample mass, g

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Acknowledgements

The author thanks the teacher for his guidance and relatives and friends for their care and help.

Funding

This work was supported by the National Nature Science Foundation of China [Grant number 51704302].

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Mechatronical Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, 100081, People’s Republic of China

    Chongye Chang, Jiafan Ren & Xinming Qian

  2. Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Graduate School, Hangzhou, 310018, Zhejiang, People’s Republic of China

    Xinyu Wei

  3. School of Chemical Engineering, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing, 210094, Jiangsu, People’s Republic of China

    Jinhua Peng

  4. Field Engineering Institute, Army Engineering University of PLA, Nanjing, 210007, Jiangsu, People’s Republic of China

    Miao Yao

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  1. Chongye Chang
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Correspondence to Xinming Qian.

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Chang, C., Wei, X., Ren, J. et al. Effect of different proportions of Mg(BH4)2/Al on thermal decomposition of RDX. J Therm Anal Calorim 148, 4689–4698 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10973-023-12140-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10973-023-12140-1

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