Premium
Back Cover: Nanothermite/RDX‐Based Miniature Device for Impact Ignition of High Explosives (Prop., Explos., Pyrotech. 3/2017)
Author(s) -
Glavier Ludovic,
Nicollet Andrea,
Jouot Fabien,
Martin Bernard,
Barberon Jeremy,
Renaud Laurent,
Rossi Carole
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
propellants, explosives, pyrotechnics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.56
H-Index - 65
eISSN - 1521-4087
pISSN - 0721-3115
DOI - 10.1002/prep.201780304
Subject(s) - detonator , explosive material , ignition system , materials science , detonation , combustion , optoelectronics , composite material , chemistry , engineering , aerospace engineering , organic chemistry
The back cover picture shows : a Ø 2.5 mm miniature electric detonator for impact ignition of high secondary explosives without using primary high explosive. An exploded view of the miniature device is illustrated on the top image. The ignition is realized with only 80 μJ, thanks to a pyroMEMS chip (4×2 mm 2 ) consisting in a thin Al/CuO nanothermite deposited on a micro electro‐thermal heater. On the left part of the image, two pyroMEMS are shown. Once ignited, the thin nanothermite film reacts, produces an intense emission of light and emits hot particles over several millimeters. The so called flame thereby ignites a ring of 17 mg of packed Al/Bi 2 O 3 nanothermite in a fraction of ms which then ignites within 150 μs, 75 mg of RDX contained in the combustion chamber (Ø 2.5mm × 1.2 cm). The high energetic gases accelerate a metallic flyer of 40 mg at 600 to 1000 m.s −1 to impact the secondary explosives to ignite. Shock to detonation transitions have been successful demonstrated with a success rate of 80%. The innovation and interest of such miniature electric detonators lie in the possibility to ignite high secondary explosives from only 80 μJ of electrical energy without the use of primary explosive. More details are discussed in the article by Ludovic Glavier et al. on pp. 308 ff.