Influence of the particle size of the components on the mechanical sensitivity of metallized high explosives

The results of experimental studies of the mechanical initiation of compositions of explosives (HMX, RDX) with aluminum powder at various component and granulometric compositions are presented. It is shown that nanocomposites and mechanical mixtures of explosives with nanoscale aluminum are characterized by extremely high sensitivity in comparison with compositions containing micron-sized aluminum powder. The results are explained based on the assumption that an increase in the sensitivity is caused by an additional heat release in the course of chemical interaction of components at mechanically induced hot spots. Data on the effect of passivating coating and aging of the particles of nanoscale aluminum on the sensitivity of binary compositions are obtained and analyzed.