Study on the thermal decomposition characteristics and thermal safety of TKX-50-based multicomponent energetic materials

Novel nitrogen-rich ionic salt energetic material, 5,5′-bitetrazole-1,1′-diol dihydroxylamine salt (TKX-50) has been widely concerned in safety ammunition field. In this paper, non-isothermal thermal analysis and adiabatic ARC experiments are conducted on TKX-50-based multi-component explosive TMCE (TKX-50/CL-20/AP/Al/binder=15/10/32/37/6), and the thermal decomposition characteristics of TMCE are explored. The results indicate that the initial thermal decomposition temperature and the peak decomposition temperatures of TMCE drop dramatically due to the component synergistic interaction. Confinement and oxygen-enriched environments facilitate thermal runaway in TMCE. Based on thermal analysis findings, the Self-Accelerating Decomposition Temperature (SADT) of TMCE was calculated. The heating process of the small-scale cook-off device was calculated and experimentally validated with reaction time errors below 3%. These findings enable thermal safety prediction for TMCE-loaded warheads and provide critical references for engineering applications and formulation design of TKX-50-based energetic materials.