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Print ISBN: 978-3-527-32610-5; also available in electronic formats
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Print ISBN: 978-3-527-32920-5; also available in electronic formats
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Kubota, N.
Propellants and Explosives
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Print ISBN: 978-3-527-33178-9; also available in electronic formats
Rudolf Meyer, Josef Köhler, and Axel Homburg
Explosives
7th, completely revised and updated Edition
Authors
Rudolf Meyer(†)
(formerly: WASAG Chemie AG, Essen, Germany)
Josef Köhler
Fronweg 1
4783 Schardenberg
Austria
Axel Homburg
formerly Dynamit Nobel AG
53840 Troisdorf
Germany
All books published by Wiley-VCH are carefully produced. Nevertheless, authors, editors, and publisher do not warrant the information contained in these books, including this book, to be free of errors. Readers are advised to keep in mind that statements, data, illustrations, procedural details or other items may inadvertently be inaccurate.
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The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbibliografie; detailed bibliographic data are available on the Internet at http://dnb.dnb.de.
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Print ISBN 978-3-527-33776-7
ePDF ISBN 978-3-527-68959-0
ePub ISBN 978-3-527-68961-3
Mobi ISBN 978-3-527-68960-6
oBook ISBN 978-3-527-68958-3
This edition is dedicated to:
Dr. Karl F. Meyer †
Founder of the Fraunhofer Institut für Chemische Technologie (ICT) (formerly: Institut für Chemie der Treib- und Explosivstoffe) Karlsruhe - Berghausen (Pfinztal), Germany
Preface
Almost eight years have passed since the last issue of explosives — nevertheless, this close to 40-year-old reference guide is still very popular. The publisher and the authors took this popularity as a reason to publish this 7th and updated edition.
An extensive update was also called for by more intense research for environmentally friendly, more powerful as well as more insensitive explosives and formulas developed in the past 10 years.
After careful consideration of current copyright and legal discussions, the authors, Wiley-VCH and the Fraunhofer Institute of Chemical Technology (ICT) decided jointly not to provide a demo version of the ICT Database of Thermochemical Values within this book anymore. Readers are referred to the homepage of the Fraunhofer Institute of Chemical Technology (ICT), where further information about the database and the ICT Thermodynamic Code can be found.
The Fraunhofer Institute for Chemical Technology ICT, with Dr. Michael Herrmann as lead reviser, was again the driving force during the revision of the book. The authors would like to express their sincere thanks to the following members of the Fraunhofer ICT:
Dr. Horst Krause, Dr. StefanKelzenberg, Dr. Jutta Böhnlein-Mauß, Dr. Paul Bernd Kempa, Uwe Schaller, Dr. Jochen Neutz, Sebastian Wurster, Volker Weiser, Dr.-Ing. Gudrun Bunte †, as well as the director of the institute, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Peter Elsner.
Messrs Prof. Dr. Thomas Klapötke (LMU München, Germany), Dr. Paul Wanninger (PDW GmbH, Marktl, Germany), Dr. Gerhard Krause (Krause GmbH, Potsdam, Germany), Dr. U. Bley (RUAG Ammotec, Germany), Dr. U. Lawrentz (RUAG Ammotec, Germany) Prof. Dr. Alfred Kappl (Rohren-dorf/Krems, Austria), Dr. Dietrich Eckhardt (BAM, Berlin, Germany) and Dr. J.E. Coetzee (SAFEX International) provided many corrections and additional suggestions for this revision. The authors would like to express their gratitude to them as well as to other contributing experts of the explosive community.
Among these may be mentioned Dr. B. Eulering (WASAG Chemie, Essen), Dipl.-Ing. W. Franke (BAM, Berlin), Dipl.-Ing. H. Grosse † (WASAGChemie, Essen), Dr. E. Häusler † (BICT), Dr. R. Hagel (DNAG, Fürth), Dr. H. Hornberg † (ICT), Dr. H. Krebs (BAM, Berlin), Dr. G. Kistner (ICT), Prof. Dr. H. Köhler † (Austron), Dipl.-Ing. H. Krätschmer, Dr. K. Meyer † (ICT), Prof. Dr.-Ing. K. Nixdorff (BW University, Hamburg), Dr. K. Redecker (DNAG, Fürth), Dr. H.J. Rodner (BAM, Berlin), Dr. J.F. Roth † (DNAG, Troisdorf), Prof. Dr. H. Schubert (ICT), Prof. Dr. M. Steidinger (BAM, Berlin), Dipl.-Ing. G. Stockmann (WNC-Nitrochemie), Dr. G. Traxler (ORS Wien), Mr. R. Varosh (RISI, USA), Mr. J. Wraige (Solar Pyrotechnics, GB), Dr. F. Volk † (ICT) and Dr. R. Zimmermann (BVS, Dortmund).
We hope that the large number of people who remain unmentioned will also feel that they share in this expression of thanks.
The authors also wish to thank the publisher, the Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH Company, and in particular Mrs. Dr. Claudia Ley and Mrs. Stefanie Volk, for the most pleasant co-operation in the production and printing of this book.
The publishers and the authors continue to welcome suggestions and communications of any kind. We hope that our book will remain an important reference work and a quick source of information in this edition as well.
Schardenberg/Troisdorf
September 2015
Josef Köhler and Axel Homburg
From the preface of previous editions
“Explosives” is a concise handbook covering the entire field of explosives. It was preceded by the booklet “Explosivstoffe” published in 1932 by WASAG, Berlin, and by the handbook of industrial and military explosives published by WASAG-CHEMIE in 1961 under the same name.
The book contains about 500 entries arranged in alphabetical order. These include formulas and descriptions of about 120 explosive chemicals, about 60 additives, fuels, and oxidizing agents, and a 1500-entry subject index.
The objective of the book is to provide fundamental information on the subject of explosives not only to experts but also to the general public. The book will therefore, apart from industrial companies and research facilities concerned, be found useful in documentary centers, translation bureaus, editorial offices, patent and lawyer offices, and other institutions of this nature.
The properties, preparation, and applications of each substance are briefly described. In the case of key explosives and raw materials, the standard purity specifications are also listed.
The asymmetric margins are provided for entries and marginal notes of the reader.
Instructions for the thermodynamic calculations of the performance parameters of high explosives, gun propellants, and rocket propellants are given in somewhat greater detail. The basic thermodynamic data will be found in the extensive synoptic tables. They are based on the metric system; conversion from the English or the US system can be made using the conversion tables on the back flyleaf. The front flyleaf contains a glossary of the terms denoting the characteristics of explosive materials in six languages.
The standard temperature selected for the energy of formation and enthalpy of formation data is 25 °C = 298.15 K. The elementary form of carbon was taken to be graphite (and not diamond, as before). The numerical values of the energies of formation (which, as known, appear both in the relevant entry and in the tables) are the optimum molar values found in the enthalpy tables of Volk, Bathelt and Kuthe: “Thermochemische Daten von Raketentreibstoffen, Treibladungspulvern sowie deren Komponenten”, published by the Institut für Chemische Technologie (ICT), 76327 Pfinztal-Berghausen in 1972.
The US experts in rocket-techniques1) and the Institute of Makers of Explosives2) published glossaries on the definition and explanations of technical terms. Parts of them have been incorporated in the text.
The book is not intended as a systematic presentation of the science of explosives. Interested readers are referred to the many excellent publications on the subject, which are available in English (see, for example, the books by M.A. Cook) and the now nearly complete encyclopedia covering the whole explosive field, edited by Seymour M. Kaye (formerly by Basil T. Fedoroff †: “Encyclopedia of Explosives and Related Items”). Users of explosives should also consult the “Blaster’s Handbook” of DuPont Inc., which is by far the best book on the subject.
A comprehensive list of literature references will be found at the end of the book.
About the Authors
As the founder of the company “Pyrochemie”, located in Schardenberg (Austria), Josef Köhler mainly works on the development and production of pyrotechnical special effects for the film industry. Additionally, he creates new, environmentally friendly priming explosives and works in the field of detonation and ignition technology. Born in Braunschweig (Germany) in 1962, Josef Köhler trained as a pyrotechnician and as an authorized user of explosives, completing his degree in chemical engineering in 1988. After finishing his basic military service, he began his professional career as an administrator in the R&D department of an explosives company. From 1991 onwards he initially worked as the assistant of the works manager in producing combustible ammunition and was promoted to manager two years later. In 1996 he founded his own company in Austria. As well as being a technical writer, Josef Köhler works as a freelance lecturer and juror expert for the courts.
From 1987 through 1997 Dr. Homburg was chairman of the board at Dynamit Nobel AG switching to the supervisory board upon his retirement in 1998, remaining member until 2002. He was born in 1936 in Hanover (Germany) and studied at the Technische Hochschule in Darmstadt (Germany) where he gained his doctorate in the field of jet engines and rocket technology. From 1963 to 1968 he was a scientific assistant at the TH Darmstadt before joining the “Propellants” department at Dynamit Nobel AG in 1969. In 1972 he became head of the main R&D department for explosives, the business unit he represented when he joined the board in 1983. Axel Homburg is member of various national and international committees, and has been chairman of the board of trustees at the Fraunhofer Institute for Chemical Technology (ICT) since 1994 and a member of the board of trustees at the Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM) since 1989.
