| dc.description.abstract | Questions have been asked about the stability of RS-RDX with regard to shock sensitivity during the lifecycle of a PBX.
To study if RS-RDX does change properties due to ageing, PBXN-109 was selected as our composition for an ageing
study. RDX crystals were produced by Dyno Nobel. The study includes testing of virgin PBXN-109 and PBXN-109
aged at 60oC for 3, 6, 12 and 18 months. In addition to shock sensitivity determined by Intermediate Scale Gap Test, the
test programme included testing of Critical Diameter and Shore A hardness.
This report contains test results for PBXN-109 aged 18 mounts at 60oC. The obtained shock sensitivity of 57 kbar is
slightly lower than for virgin PBXN-109 containing RS-RDX CH. 719/03 v.78. For PBXN-109 aged 18 months a
critical diameter of 7.3 mm was observed, this is slightly lower than for virgin material but not different from samples
aged for 3, 6 and 12 months. The Shore A hardness has increased slightly after ageing at 60oC for 18 months both
compared with the Shore A hardness properties of virgin and samples aged for 3, 6 and 12 months. | en_GB |