Structural study of TATB under detonation-induced shock conditions

TL;DR

This study investigates the behavior of TATB, an insensitive high explosive, under detonation shock conditions using in-situ X-ray diffraction, revealing its remarkable structural stability and resilience up to high pressures, which informs its insensitivity and detonation mechanisms.

Contribution

The paper provides the first in-situ, nanosecond-scale analysis of TATB's structural response under detonation shocks, highlighting its unexpected stability compared to other explosives.

Findings

TATB remains structurally stable up to 60+ GPa during detonation.

TATB exhibits compression followed by decomposition within hundreds of nanoseconds.

Compared to LLM-105, TATB shows greater resilience under shock conditions.

Abstract

We explore the response of the insensitive high explosive (IHE) 1,3,5-Triamino-2,4,6- trinitrobenzene (TATB) under detonation-induced shock conditions using in-situ synchrotron X-ray diffraction in the 100 ns time scale using either a conventional or a colliding detonation drive. In all of the detonation experiments on various sizes and morphologies of TATB, we observe an extended stability of the TATB triclinic crystal structure. As the detonation front passes through the TATB, X-ray diffraction indicates a portion of the TATB exhibits a compression up to 30+ GPa, followed subsequently by a pressure release and continued decomposition over a few hundred nanoseconds. Likewise, for colliding detonation-driven shock compression of single crystals of TATB, a significant portion of the triclinic crystal structure appears to be stable up to 60+ GPa. Conversely, in similar detonations of a LLM-105 PBX, X-ray diffraction is simply indicative of decomposition without the apparent compression and slow decomposition seen in TATB. The results indicate the surprising resilience of TATB under these high-pressure, temperature and shock conditions, providing a baseline for understanding the insensitivity of TATB that is considered the industry standard for an insensitive high explosive. The results also provide intriguing information for the extended reaction zone in TATB, and the hot-spot mechanisms for initiating and propagating detonation in this uniquely insensitive explosive.