Table of explosive detonation velocities

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This is a compilation of published detonation velocities for various high explosive compounds. Detonation velocity is the speed with which the detonation shock wave travels through the explosive. It is a key, directly measurable indicator of explosive performance, but depends on density which must always be specified, and may be too low if the test charge diameter is not large enough. Especially for little studied explosives there may be divergent published values due to charge diameter issues. In liquid explosives, like nitroglycerin, there may be two detonation velocities, one much higher than the other. The detonation velocity values presented here are typically for the highest practical density which maximizes achievable detonation velocity. [1]

The velocity of detonation is an important indicator for overall energy and power of detonation, and in particular for the brisance or shattering effect of an explosive which is due to the detonation pressure. The pressure can be calculated using Chapman-Jouguet theory from the velocity and density.

Table of Explosive Detonation Velocities
Explosive classExplosive nameAbbreviationDetonation
velocity (m/s)
Test Density
(g/cm3)
Aromatic 1,3,5-trinitrobenzene TNB7,4501.60
Aromatic 1,3,5-Triazido-2,4,6-trinitrobenzene TATNB7,3001.71
Aromatic 4,4’-Dinitro-3,3’-diazenofuroxan DDF10,0002.02
Aromatic Trinitrotoluene TNT6,9001.60
Aromatic Diazodinitrophenol DDNP7,1001.63
Aromatic Trinitroaniline TNA7,3001.72
Aromatic Tetryl 7,5701.71
Aromatic Picric acid TNP7,3501.70
Aromatic Ammonium picrate (Dunnite) 7,1501.60
Aromatic Methyl picrate 6,8001.57
Aromatic Ethyl picrate 6,5001.55
Aromatic Picryl chloride 7,2001.74
Aromatic Trinitrocresol 6,8501.62
Aliphatic Nitrourea NU6,8601.73
Aromatic Lead styphnate 5,2002.90
Aromatic Triaminotrinitrobenzene TATB7,3501.80
Aliphatic 1,1-diamino-2,2-dinitroethene DADNE, FOX-78,3351.76
Aliphatic 1,3,3-Trinitroazetidine TNAZ9,5971.84
Inorganic Ammonium perchlorate AP [2] 6,3001.95
Aliphatic Methyl nitrate MN [3] 6,8181.22
Aliphatic Nitroglycol/ethylene glycol dinitrate EGDN8,3001.49
Aliphatic Nitroglycerine NG7,7001.59
Aliphatic isopropyl nitrate IPN5,4000.86
Aliphatic Mannitol hexanitrate MHN8,2601.73
Aliphatic Pentaerythritol tetranitrate PETN8,4001.76
Aliphatic Erythritol tetranitrate ETN8,2001.72
Aliphatic Xylitol pentanitrate XPN7,1001.852
Aliphatic Ethylenedinitramine EDNA7,5701.65
Aliphatic Nitroguanidine NQ8,2001.70
Aliphatic Cyclotrimethylenetrinitramine RDX8,5501.762
Aliphatic Cyclotetramethylene tetranitramine HMX9,1001.89
Aliphatic Hexanitrodiphenylamine HND7,1001.64
Aliphatic Hexanitrohexaazaisowurtzitane HNIW or CL-20 [4] 9,5002.04
Aliphatic Dinitroglycoluril DINGU8,4501.94
Aliphatic Tetranitroglycoluril TNGU, Sorguyl, Sorguryl9,1501.95
Aliphatic Hexanitrohexaazatricyclododecanedione HHTDD, DTNGU, Naza/Namsorguyl/uryl HnHaza/amTcDglcDuryl9,7002.16
Aliphatic 5-Nitro-2,4-dihydro-3H-1,2,4-triazole-3-one [5] NTO8,5641.93
Aliphatic Octanitrocubane ONC10,1002.00
Aliphatic Nitrocellulose NC7,0501.20
Aliphatic Urea nitrate UN4,7001.67
Aliphatic Hydrogen peroxide-urea UHP3,9400.85
Aliphatic Triacetone triperoxide AP or TATP5,3001.18
Aliphatic Methyl ethyl ketone peroxide MEKP5,2001.17
Aliphatic Hexamethylene triperoxide diamine HMTD4,5000.88
Inorganic Mercury fulminate 4,2503.00
Inorganic Potassium perchlorate aluminium mixture KClO4 [6] 4,6001.5
Inorganic Lead azide 4,6303.00
Inorganic Nickel hydrazine nitrate NHN8,1501.70
Inorganic Silver azide 4,0004.00
Aliphatic Ammonium nitrate/fuel oil AN/FO4,9401.30
Inorganic Ammonium nitrate/hexamin AMT5,0002.00
Inorganic Ammonium nitrate/sugar Ansu3,4001.75
Aliphatic Nitromethane NM6,4001.1371
Inorganic Armstrong's mixture AM4,5001.50
AliphaticMethylene dinitroamine [7] [8] MEDINA8,7001.65
Explosive classExplosive nameAbbreviationDetonation
velocity (m/s)
Test Density
(g/cm3)

See also

References

  1. Cooper, Paul W. (1996). Explosives Engineering, New York: Wiley-VCH. ISBN   0-471-18636-8
  2. Shevchenko, A. A.; Dolgoborodov, A Yu; Brazhnikov, M. A.; Kirilenko, V. G. (2018). "Pseudoideal detonation of mechanoactivated mixtures of ammonium perchlorate with nanoaluminum". Journal of Physics: Conference Series. 946 (1): 012055. Bibcode:2018JPhCS.946a2055S. doi: 10.1088/1742-6596/946/1/012055 .
  3. Kozak, G.D. (1998). "Measurement and calculation of the ideal detonation velocity for liquid nitrocompounds". Combust Explos Shock Waves. 34 (5): 584. doi:10.1007/BF02672682. S2CID   98738029.
  4. Bolton, O.; Simke, L. R.; Pagoria, P. F.; Matzger, A. J. (2012). "High Power Explosive with Good Sensitivity: A 2:1 Cocrystal of CL-20:HMX". Crystal Growth & Design. 12 (9): 4311. doi:10.1021/cg3010882.
  5. Viswanath DS, Ghosh TK, Boddu VM. (2018) 5-Nitro-2,4-Dihydro-3H-1,2,4-Triazole-3-One (NTO). Chapter 5 in Emerging Energetic Materials: Synthesis, Physicochemical, and Detonation Properties. Springer. doi : 10.1007/978-94-024-1201-7_5
  6. "Data" (PDF). www.dtic.mil. Retrieved 2019-12-15.[ dead link ]
  7. PubChem. "Medina". pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. Retrieved 2024-05-20.
  8. "methylenedinitramine | CH4N4O4 | ChemSpider". www.chemspider.com. Retrieved 2024-05-20.