Sensitivities to Frictional Speed and Pressure for Nitramine Explosives Measured by BAM Friction Apparatus

Here, we investigated the influence of frictional speed and pressure on the sensitivities of two nitramine explosives, RDX and CL-20. The ignition probability of the explosives was evaluated by using BAM apparatus and 3D model analysis under varied speed and pressure conditions. Probit analysis was used to evaluate the friction sensitivity of the nitramine explosives. As the friction speed increases from 26.7 to 96.7 mm/s, the F₀ values (lower limit of friction sensitivity) of CL-20 and RDX drop significantly from 180 and 96 N to 72 and 40 N, respectively, indicating that nitramine explosives are more sensitive and prone to ignition at higher friction speeds. Furthermore, a thermal diffusion model was established to describe the evolution of temperature at the frictional interface. The ignition temperatures of RDX and CL-20 were theoretically calculated on the basis of the friction sensitivity lower limit (F₀) and corresponding speed, yielding values of 530.0 ± 25.2 K for RDX and 442.7 ± 20.3 K for CL-20, respectively. This method provides a versatile approach for accurately evaluating the friction sensitivity of energetic material, allowing for the development of safer energetic material handling protocols.