| Abstract: | Meeting the requirements for insensitive munitions remains a complex route, where all the steps of the production process have to be addressed. NTO is a choice component, especially for large munitions. Various compositions have been optimized, which are now available, in pressed or cast PBX as well as melt cast formulations. Standard products such as RDX have been improved by the synthesis or crystallization methods, giving reduced sensitivity formulations. Some cast PBX can sustain severe shaped charge jet impacts, thanks to their large critical diameter, and are candidates as main filling of large munitions such as IM Mk82. The formulation step is addressing not only new binder principles, allowing an increase in the filler and thus energy contents, but also a bi‐component innovative method to get a semi continuous filling process where the pot life is no longer an issue. Finally a partial toolset for designing IM features is proposed with a recent example of successful application. |
