US3356547A - Water-in-oil explosive emulsion containing organic nitro compound and solid explosive adjuvant - Google Patents

Description

United States Patent WATER-lN-OIL EXPLdsIvE EMULSION CONTAIN- ING ORGANIC NITRO COMPOUND AND SOLID EXPLOSIVE ADJUVANT 3,355,547 Patented Dec. 5, 1967 ice possible in this manner to increase the heaving efiect of the explosive at the expense of its brisance.

In the manufacture of explosive mixtures containing detonatable emulsions an important economic advantage Ado Betthmalm and Clemens Frame Leverkusen and 5 lies in the fact that the percentage of nitroglycerin (nitro Paul Lingens, Cologne-Marienburg, Germany, assignors Compounds) Often can he reduced; to Dynamit Nobel A.G., Troisdorf, Bez. Cologne, The manufacture of the explosive mixtures of the in- Germany, a corporation of Germany vention is generally performed in such a manner that the N0 Drawing- Continuation of pp t n detonatable emulsion is worked together with the solid, g N 1963- This aPPhcafioil P 1966, which is ground to the fineness customary for explosives, 1 in an a ropriate mixing a aratus, until it is homo Claims priority, applicatiglgl g a y, 24, 1962 enized, thoroughly inter sgersed with respect to tlfe 4 Claims. emulsion. Another possibility is to mix the solid first with the aqueous phase and then to add the organic phase This application is a continuation of application Ser. (nitroglycerin or nitro compounds) along with emulsi 301,178, filed Aug 9, 1963, now abandoned fying aids. Also, the aqueous solution can be emulsified The subject of copending application Ser. No. 179,491, with a mixture of the solid and the organic phase. The filed Mar. 13, 1962, now Patent 3,231,437, is detonatable Proportion of emulsion an be about 10-75% of the comaqueous emulsions which are formed of water and liquid P0Sition depending on the Properties desiredor fusible explosive and these compositions are water-in- The advantages of the eXplOsiVes made according to oil emulsions. The emnlsification is achieved by the use the invention are HOW to be d i ed in a number of of appropriate stabilizers and emulsifiers which have a examples; solution afiinity both for the detonatable component and EXAMPLE 1 for the aqueous phase. In an addition to said copending p d explosive) application, a further copending application, Ser. No.

196,445, filed May 21, 1962, now Patent 3,212,945, disemulsm wnslstmg closes improvement in that carbon carriers and/or oxy- 9.8 parts nitroglycol gen carriers and Water-soluble organic explosives can be 0.1 part collodion co ton dissolved in the aqueous phase. 0.1 part of a sorbitol-base emulsifier known by the com- It has now been found that these emulsions can also ial name of Span 65, which is partially esterified be used together with solid substances to constitute new with fatty a id explosive mixtures. The solids to be added may consist o 3 parts of a saturated, aqueous solution of NH NO and oxygen carriers, combustible substances, detonatable sub- Ca(NO stances, inert substances or a combination of these sub- 79% NH4 3 stances, depending on the type of application. Wood flour The important advantages of the explosive mixtures 4% brown coal dust of the invention can be summarized as follows: Test data:

By the combination of detonatable emulsions with Denslty solids, explosives can be produced in many difierent con- Lead block test 360 sistencies according to the ratio of solids to emulsion; for Hess test example, they may be powdered, gelatinous or even cast- Propagatlon of detonanon on Sand 20 able at ordinary temperatures. Energy level 1003 The density of the customary powdered explosives can 1 Metemons per liter be advantageously controlled by the Water content of the A Standard explosive Which contains an additional 3% emulsion, without greatly affecting their other technical NH4NO3 has the following test data: characteristics. I Density g./cc 0.93

The effect described in the above-mentioned principal Lead block test cc 350 application of the reduction of the sensitivity to impact Hess upset test mm 18.6 of the detonatable emulsions is also observed in the ex- Propagation f d ation on sand cm 30 plosive mixtures of the present invention. For example, it Ehfifgy level m.-t./l 90.4 is Ph in case of many f hl g As the data on the standard explosive show, it is possible PIOSIVeS t Q0I1S1deIah1yfedue thell' sellslflvlty to Impact by the use of an emulsion to increase the density and by emulsifying them with aqueous solutions, thus conhence the energy level of a powder explosive. tributing considerably towards safety in handling them. EXAMPLE 2 The brisance of explosive mixtures based on the present invention can be controlled within very wide limits (Gelatinous explosives with v ying water content) and can be adapted to the desired application. It is also Percentage compositions and'test data:

Emulsion lt i ix t r g Wood I lii s t Energy Percent Nitro- H2O, Calcium Percent 6r Flour, Test, Level, glgsggi lpfi 224 Percent gtgtgte, Naggglus Percent mm. m.-t./l.

30 3. 3:? at 2 as 3 g .2 3.2 g 17.5 91. 5 30 8 01 5 as: 5 3 g 3 Despite the substitution of the energy-supplying salt pai-r (NaNO -l-NH CI) by an inert substance (H O), a marked increase in the energy level is achieved. The brisance (taking the Hess test as the measure of this factor) can be adjusted within wide limits by varying the water content.

EXAMPLE 3 (Gelatinous mining explosive) Composition.35% emulsion consisting of:

20 parts 60/40 nitroglycerin 0.8 part collodion cotton 0.2 part zinc oxystearate 14 parts of an aqueous solution of 34.7% cane sugar, 27.8% Ca(NO 23.6% NH NO and 13.9% H

40% NaNO 25% NH Cl Test data:

Density g./cc 1.65 Lead block expansion cc 212 Hess upset test mm 12.7 Propagation of detonation on sand cm 3 Propagation of detonation (cardboard tube) This explosive complies with the Class 1 specifications as gas proof, and yet, at 212 cc., its lead block expansion or power is 15% greater than that of the ordinary Class 1 mining explosive of the following composition:

Nitroglycerin Percent 30 Ammonium nitrate dO 26.5 50% calcium nitrate solution do 3 Wood flour do 0.5 NaCl do 40.0 Lead block expansion cc 185 in spite of the fact that the latter has a substantially higher content of a brisant explosive.

Test data:

Density 1.55 g./cc. Lead block expansion 370 cc. Hess upset test -3 14 mm. Propagation of detonation 4 cm. Koenen-Ide impact test 1 kg., 50 cm.

This explosive is of about the same power as the one known by the commercial name of Ammon-Gelit 3 (lead block expansion 375 cc.), but it is substantially safer to handle (Ammon-Gelit 3 impact test: 1 kg., 20 cm.), and more economical, since it uses 2% less nitroglycerin than Ammon-Gelit 3 and contains no aromatic nitrocompounds (Ammon-Gelit 3: 11% aromatic nitrocompounds).

EXAMPLE 5 (High-brisance gelatinous explosive) Co;mposition.35% emulsion consisting of:

19 parts 60/ 40 nitroglycerin 0.8 part collodion cotton 0.2 part calcium oxystearate 14.7 parts saturated aqueous solution of NH NO Ca(NO and NH CIO 0.3 part guar flour 40% Hexogen [RDX, trimethylenetrinitroamine] Test data:

Density 1.58 g./cc.

Lead block expansion 450 cc.

Hess upset test Greater than 30 mm.

Detonation rate 7200 m./ sec.

Kast impact test 1 kg., 20 cm.

Composition of a comparable explosive without emulsion:

60/40 nitroglycerin Percent 33.5 Collodion cotton do 1.5 HN CIO do 25 Hexogen [RDX, trimethylenetrinitroamine] do 40 Test data:

Density 1.58 g./cc.

Lead block expansion 500 cc.

Hess upset test Greater than 30 mm.

Detonation rate 7700 m./sec.

Kast impact test 1 kg., 8 cm.

The emulsion explosive of this example still has a high brisance, as shown by the Hess upset test and the detonation rate, although it contains only 20% nitroglycerin as compared with 35% for the comparable explosive. As the two impact tests show, the handling safety has been appreciably increased.

EXAMPLE 6 (Castable explosive) Composition.60% emulsion consisting of:

35.4 parts 60/40 nitroglycerin 0.3 part collodion cotton 23.8 parts saturated ammonium nitrate solution 0.3 part of an emulsifier which is obtainable on the market under the name Cremophor FM, and is a fatty acid condensation product 4.4% brown coal dust Test data:

Density g./cc 1.20 Lead block expansion cc 350 Due to the castability of this explosive, high charge densities can be achieved by direct pouring even into irregularly shaped cavities.

60/40 nitroglycerin used in the examples is 60 parts nitroglycerin and 40- parts nitroglycol.

While the invention has been described with respect to particular embodiments thereof, these embodiments are merely representative of the invention and do not serve to define the limits thereof.

What is claimed is:

1. An explosive composition comprising a detonatable water-in-oil explosive emulsion containing an emulsifying agent and wherein the oil is nitroglycerine or nitroglycol, and solid exposive adjuvant of the group ammonium nitrate, the salt pair sodium nitrate and ammonium chloride, RDX, the proportion of emulsion being about 10-75% by weight of the composition.

2. An explosive composition according to claim 1, wherein said solid explosive adjuvant is solid ammonium nitrate, and imparts an increased energy level to the explosive.

3. An explosive composition according to claim 1, wherein said solid explosive adjuvant is solid ammonium nitrate and solid sodium nitrate, and imparts an increased energy level to the explosive.

5 6 4. An explosive composition according to claim 1, 3,212,945 10/1965 Berthmann et al l4947 wherein said solid explosive adjuvant is solid RDX, and 3,231,437 1/1966 Berthmann et a1 1 9 01 imparts high brisance to the the explosive.

CARL D. QUARFORTH, Primary Examiner. References Cited 5 BENJAMIN R. PADGETT, Examiner. UNITED STATES PATENTS S. J. LECHERT, IR., Assistant Examiner.,

3,161,551 12/1964 Egly et a1. 149-46

Claims (1)

1. AN EXPLOSIVE COMPOSITION COMPRISING A DETONATABLE WATER-IN-OIL EXPLOSIVE EMULSION CONTAINING AN EMULSIFYING AGENT AND WHEREIN THE OIL IS NITROGLYCERINE OR NITROGLYCOL, AND SOLID EXPOSIVE ADJUVANT OF THE GROUP AMMONIUM NITRATE, THE SALT PAIR SODIUM NITRATE AND AMMONIUM CHLORIDE, RDX, THE PROPORTION OF EMULSION BEING ABOUT 10-75% BY WEIGHT OF THE COMPOSITION.