Switchable Explosives: Performance Tuning of Fluid-Activated High Explosive Architectures

Cameron B Brown; Alexander H Mueller; Seetharaman Sridhar; Joseph P Lichthardt; Andrew M Schmalzer; Bryce C Tappan; Von H Whitley; Larry G Hill; Eduardo Lozano; Tariq D Aslam

doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.130.116105

Switchable Explosives: Performance Tuning of Fluid-Activated High Explosive Architectures

Phys Rev Lett. 2023 Mar 17;130(11):116105. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.130.116105.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Q-5, High Explosive Science and Technology, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545, USA.
² Colorado School of Mines, Golden, Colorado 80401, USA.
³ Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona 85287-7805, USA.
⁴ XTD-SS, Safety and Surety, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545, USA.
⁵ T-1, Physics and Chemistry of Materials, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545, USA.

PMID: 37001088
DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.130.116105

Abstract

We present our discovery of switchable high explosives (HEs) as a new class of energetic material that cannot detonate unless filled with a fluid. The performance of fluid-filled additive-manufactured HE lattices is herein evaluated by analysis of detonation velocity and Gurney energy. The Gurney energy of the unfilled lattice was 98% lower than that of the equivalent water-filled lattice and changing the fluid mechanical properties allowed tuning of the Gurney energy and detonation velocity by 8.5% and 13.4%, respectively. These results provide, for the first time since the development of HEs, a method to completely remove the hazard of unplanned detonations during storage and transport.