ENGINEERS A N D CONTRACTORS

SINCE1827

Pantex Plant

OBLIQUE IMPACT SENSITIVITY OF EXPLOSIVES

THE SKID TEST

Quarteriy Report f o r April, May, June, 1968 Engineering Order Nos. 504- 198 and 504-003

Bill M. Washburn

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OBLIQUE IMPACT SENSITIVITY OF EXPLOSIVES

THE SKID TEST

T h i s project concerns the use and study of a s e n s i t i v i t y t e s t for large explosive

charges t o ob1 ique impact, a =condi tion resembling possible operational accidents

Quarterly Report for A p r i l , May, June, I968 Engineering Order Nos 504- 198 and 504-003

DISCLAIMER
T i report was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the United States hs
Government. Neither the United States Government nor any agency thereof, nor any of their employees, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, rewmmendation, or favoring by the United States Government or any agency thereof. The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government or any agency thereof.

Portions of this doaxmat m y be illegible i tlectmnic image pmdltftE. fmnpes are n produced fmm the best avaiiabie original documex&

-122I

ABSTRACT RX-04-CW, LX-07-1, and RX-09-CD were t e s t e d .

The RX-04-CW and LX-07-1 are not

complete; however, results so f a r show the RX-04-CW comparable i n sensitivity

t o PBX 9404 while the LX-07-1 is less sensitive a t 14".

l y more sensitive than the RX-09-CB previously t e s t e d .
I
1

The RX-09-CD was s l i g h t -

PREVIOUS APPLICABLE WORK

2 .

Several RX-09 formulations have been t e s t e d ; a l l were relatively sensitive w i t h #6 r e a c t i o n s a t low heights when impacting a t 14".
Of a l l the RX-09's t e s t e d ,

RX-09-CB appeared t o be the most d e s i r a b l e material based on s e n s i t i v i t y . DISCUSSION

One formulation of RX-09, LX-07-1 and RX-04-CW (an HMX-Vi ton v a r i a n t ) was
t e s t e d t o determine the s k i d sensitiv t y . Compositions o f the formulations

were as follows:
RX-09-CD Lot 8117-114-01 LX- 07- 1 Lot 71-10 & 71-11 RX-04-CW Lot LRL 7639
HMX/DNPA/FEFO (94.3/3.6/1.7 % by weight) 3/4 Class A 701-26 and 1/4 Class B SR-1B-65 HMX/AG Run 3 DNPA/AG FEFO

HMX/Viton A (92.2/9.8 % by weight) Special Grade (700-10) HMX/Lot 17 & Lot 18 Viton A HMX/Viton A (94.14/5.86 % by weight)

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The t e s t pieces were store( i n a 60F chamber pending testing. results are l i s t e d below and i n Table I . the target pad:

The t e s t

Some trouble was encountered w i t h

the epoxy bond t o the steel plate was imperfect, so t h a t Prior t o bonding the steel plates t o t h e concrete
25%) are discarded.

upon impact of the t e s t piece, the epoxy would flake o f f . T h i s caused two
t e s t s t o be discounted. and steel. block, a l l plates are now checked by ultrasonics for voids between the epoxy Those plates showing voids
Height
.88 2,5
(t .

Mater i a 1
.

(ft)

0
14 45

Angle

Results (Reaction Level i n Sequence of Tests)

RX-09-CD

O,OO

6600

RX-04-CW

.88 1.25 1.75 2.5

14 14 45 45

o,o,o

o,o,o,o,o*

060 0,06

*The f i r s t two drops 2.5 were discounted because of the epoxy problem and questionable pieces (had been dropped several times without new surface cut).

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FUTURE WORK; COMMENTS; CONCLUSIONS

Testing will be completed on RX-04-CW and LX-07-1 a t the 45" level.

A large PBX 9404 hemisphere
(%

300 pounds) has been fabricated and will be tested

as soon as the formulation testing is complete.

I:

PBX 9404 will be tested a t 45" i n six drops froni 1.75',

%

three drops from 2.5',

three drops from 3 . 5 ' , and three drops from 5.0' ( t h u s "recalibrated" a t 45").
RX-04-CW will have six t e s t s a t 1.75'/45". RX-04-CX (95% HMX/5% Viton) will be tested a t 1.75'/45"

i n six drops.

Table I
Skid No. 514 515 516 517 518 519. 520 521 522 523* 524** 525 526 527 528 529 530 531 532 533 534 535 536 537 538 539 540 541 542 543 544 545 . 546 547 548 Material RX-04-CW RX- 04- CW RX- 04- C W RX-04-CW RX-04-CW RX-04-CW RX- 04- CW RX- 04-CW RX- 04- CW RX- 04-CW RX-04-CW RX-09-CD RX-09-CD RX-09-CD RX-09-CD RX-04-CW RX-04-CW RX- 04-CW LX-07-1 LX-07-1 LX-07-1 LX-07- 1 LX-07-1 LX-07- 1 LX-07- 1 LX-07-1 LX-07- 1 LX- 07- 1 LX-07- 1 LX-07-1 RX-09-CD RX - 09-C D RX-09-CD LX-07- 1 LX-07- 1 Height (ft) .88 .88 .88 1.25 1.25 1.25 1.75 1.75 1.75 2.5 2.5 .88 .88 .88 .88 2.5 2.5 2.5 .88 .88 .88 1.25 1.25 1.25 1.75 1.75 1.75 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5 Angle

("1

Reaction
0 0 0 0 6

Outside Temp. f"F1

75 75 72 72 72 74 82 82 82 82 69 72 86 86 86 70 73 73 73 73 74 78 80 80 80 80 78 60 75 76 52 53 64 65 66

Remarks

14 14 14 14 14 14 45 45 45 45 45 14 14 14 14 45 45 45 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 45 45 45 45 45

0 0 0 6 0 0 6 6 0 0
0 0 0 0 0

0 0

3 to 4 3 to 4 6 0 6

0 0 0 0

0
0

No Camera One Camera No Camera One Camera One Camera N Camera o No Camera One Camera One Camera One Camera No Camera No Camera No Camera One Camera No Camera No Camera One Camera N Camera o No Camera One Camera No Camera No Camera One Camera N Camera o No Camera One Camera No Camera No Camera One Camera No Camera One Camera One Camera No Camera

One Camera N Camera o

*Sand-Epoxy surface flaked o f f of steel p l a t e upon t e s t piece impact. **Piece which had been impacted several times; therefore, these results were d i s coun ted