Effect of Pressure of the Casting Vessel on the Solidification Characteristics of a DNAN/RDX Melt-Cast Explosive

This study experimentally and numerically investigated the effect of pressure of the casting vessel on the solidification characteristics of a DNAN (2,4-dinitroanisole)/RDX(cyclotrimethylenetrinitramine) melt-cast explosive. The solidification and cooling time was recorded by a thermocouple, the distribution of the shrinkage porosity was observed and analyzed, and the density of the explosive charge was measured. The primary solidification characteristics were verified by numerical simulation achieved with ProCAST casting software, and results were in qualitative agreement with experimental results. Both the experimental and numerical results demonstrate that increasing pressure of the casting vessel can effectively diminish the shrinkage porosity, reduce the solidification time, and increase the relative density of the DNAN/RDX melt-cast explosive.