Ammonium nitrate eutectic melt cast explosives

Eutectics of ammonium nitrate with ethylene diamine dinitrate, potassium nitrate, and nitroguanadine have been found to melt and cast similarly to TNT, and to have better explosive performance. These explosives promise to be insensitive, inexpensive, and easily made from commercially available materials for use in large caliber high explosive projectiles, such sis, M549, M106, and M107. The irreversible growth due to formation of a low density polymorph of ammonium nitrate (Phase IV) was eliminated by adding 15% potassium nitrate. Law performance of conventional ammonium nitrate mixtures with fuels is primarily due to lack of intimate mixing. By use of organic nitrates, particularly ethylene diamine dinitrate which are soluble in molten ammonium nitrate, the intimacy of the mixture was increased enough to produce detonation velocities similar to Comp B. The eutectic mix of "NEAK" contains 57% AN 25% EDDN, 10% KN, and 8% NQ. It melts at 98 degrees C, and freezes after super cooling at 82 degrees C. In order to get an oxygen balance for better performance, EDDN was increased to 46%, and ammonium nitrate and. potassium nitrate were reduced to 39% and 7%, respectively. This mix is very insensitive. Therefore, it is necessary to add a small percentage of a sensitizer such as RDX or glass bubbles. For maximum performance, more RDX or HMX can be added. Up to 70% HMX can be cast. For shaped charges, higher HMX content-formulations can be pressed to give performance equal to LX-14.