Acceleration capability of explosive mixtures with a process additive

The acceleration capability of HMX charges with a process additive is examined. The decrease in the acceleration capacity is largely determined by the charge porosity; for a fixed volume content of the pore-filling additive, the acceleration capability decreases in the series from polyethylene through viton to TNT. An evaluation procedure for the acceleration capability is proposed, based on the assumption that, at a 10: 1 ratio of the charge and steel (copper) plate thicknesses, the acceleration velocity varies in proportion to the initial velocity of the explosion products-plate contact boundary.