Research on the Application of the Thermite/Explosive Composite Material As a Detonator

To develop a green primary explosive, we prepare an Al@KIO 4 nano-thermite using spray co-precipitation and then mix it with pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN) to form a PETN/Al@KIO 4 composite as a primary explosive. The thermite structure is characterized using X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, which indicates that the thermite is about 200 nm and well distributed. The combustion performance is investigated using high-speed photography and confined combustion experiments. The results show that the detonation time of PETN/Al@KIO 4 composites is 60 μ s earlier than that of pure PETN, indicating that the thermite accelerates the process of the deflagration-to-detonation transition of PETN. The detonation performance of the composites is investigated, and it is verified that PETN/Al@KIO 4 can initiate RDX successfully and be used as a primary explosive. Moreover, the safety performance and long-term storage performance of the composite are evaluated, which shows that the PETN/Al@KIO 4 composite performance is steady and the initiation effect does not change after 20 years of storage.