Detonation Properties of the Insensitive Explosive TATB

The detonation properties of various compositions of TATB using electrically-driven flyer plates, were investigated. TATB is a very stable explosive that is remarkably insensitive to severe impact and thermal environments. In the work described here thin flyer plates were used to initiate the TATB. These flyer plates were 0.25-mm-thick plastic disks varying in diameter from 3 mm to 50 mm. The flyers were accelerated by electrically exploding a thin aluminum foil. Studies of the detonation properties of TATB uncovered and characterized many of the unexpectedly large changes in the divergence of the detonation wave in TATB when various HE parameters are changed. The threshold flyer velocities required to initiate various formulations of TATB were determined and the transit time of the detonation through pellets of the explosive was investigated. The characterization of TATB still leaves much room for investigation particularly in the effects of HE particle size and in the explosive's behavior under differing means of initiation.