Abstract: | A series of W/O emulsion explosives containing 30–50 wt‐% of the demilitarized mixture RDX/TNT (Composition B 50/50) was prepared. Detonation velocities and relative explosive strengths of these mixtures were determined and their detonation characteristics were calculated according to the EU standard methods for commercial explosives. Thermal reactivities of the most reactive components of these W/O mixtures were examined by means of differential thermal analysis and outputs were analyzed according to the Kissinger method. The reactivities, expressed as the Ea ? R?1 slopes of the Kissinger relationship, correlate with the squares of the detonation velocities of the corresponding explosive mixtures. It was found that fortification of the W/O emulsions by the demilitarized mixture RDX/TNT allows modification of detonation velocities of the resulting emulsion explosives within relatively broad limits. However, the effect of this admixture on the relative explosive strength is not well defined. Nevertheless, fortification in this sense can give rock‐blasting explosives with a performance on the level of industrial powdered amatols. |