The Chemical Compatibility and Adhesion of Energetic Materials with Several Polymers and Binders: An Experimental Study.

The chemical compatibility and the adhesion of energetic materials and additive materials exert a strong influence on the sensitivity, safety and performance of a polymer-bonded explosive (PBX). In this study, the chemical compatibility of hexahydro-1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazine (RDX), pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN) with several polymers were evaluated using the vacuum stability test (VST) and the differential scanning calorimetry (DSC); while the adhesion between RDX or PETN and each binder based on these polymers was determined through interfacial characteristics using contact angle measurement. The experimental results demonstrate that RDX and PETN are compatible with polystyrene (PS), nitrocellulose (NC) and fluoroelastomer (FKM) according to the STANAG 4147.