Some Observations About the Drop-weight Explosive Sensitivity Test

The apparent simplicity of the drop-weight apparatus for explosive sensitivity testing hides the reality that it is actually a complex integrated test of both ignition and growth of deflagration. Although the drop-weight test is undeniably a useful screening test for explosive properties, a misunderstanding of the technique’s limitations has blinded many researchers to its limited wider applicability. This monograph discusses how the test actually works, the significant engineering difficulties with standardization between machines, which types of explosives are suited to the test and which are not, and finally offers a few suggestions for alternatives when a more quantified understanding of a material’s response is required for other applications.

INVESTIGATING EXPLOSIVE SENSITIVITY TO ELECTROSTATIC DISCHARGE ACCORDING TO NATO STANDARDIZATION DOCUMENTS

Some small scale methods for testing the sensitivity against ESD (Electro Static Discharge) of solid explosives like primary explosives, booster explosives, high explosives, gun and rocket propellants (smokeless powders and solid rocket propellants) and pyrotechnic compositions are overviewed in the paper from the point of NATO standardisation documentation that includes Standard Agreement (STANAG) 4490 [1], Allied Ordnance Publication AOP-7 [2] and STANAG 4170 [3]. The overview is supplemented with analyses and assessments of methods and received results. ESD sensitivity tests of explosives in small scale have not been unified yet in NATO standardization documentation in contradiction to NATO large scale tests. Such unification would be beneficial as it could lead to a greater reliability of results of explosive ESD susceptibility tests performed e.g. in the frame of interlaboratory tests.