Effects of fuel components and charge structure on detonation energy of emulsion explosives

The aqueous solution of multi-component ammonium nitrate plays a crucial role in influencing the energy output of emulsion explosives. This study established a model for characterizing the detonation process of aqueous ammonium nitrate solutions, which has been validated through experimental verification. The emulsion explosive achieves a detonation pressure of 3.69 GPa, with a decay duration of approximately 10 μs, which is 50 times longer than the detonation reaction duration of 190 ns. Beyond 40 μs, the radial dispersion velocity of the detonation products stabilizes, with the angle between the lateral dispersion front of the detonation products and the detonation propagation direction stabilizing at 15°. The radial dispersion velocity of the products is approximately 0.268 times the detonation velocity. For a mixture with an NH₄NO₃ to H₂O/C₁₂H₂₆ ratio of 75/25, the detonation velocity of the emulsion explosives reaches its maximum value of 4100 m/s when the H₂O/C₁₂H₂₆ ratio is 9/1. Conversely, the detonation pressure attains its minimum value of 3.3 GPa when the H₂O/C₁₂H₂₆ ratio is 10/0. For a mixture with an H₂O to NH₄NO₃/C₁₂H₂₆ ratio of 10/90, the detonation pressure of the emulsion explosives reaches peak values at both NH₄NO₃/C₁₂H₂₆ ratios of 10/1 and 20/1. This demonstrates the dual influence of mixture density and chemical stoichiometry on the detonation energy output. The scale of air interlayers within the medium is a critical parameter influencing detonation, with 40 mm representing the critical width at which air interlayers can cause detonation quenching. The larger the confinement size, the more pronounced the constraint on the detonation products, resulting in a smaller radial dispersion velocity of the products.