Sciencemadness Discussion Board

NMX Foam

The WiZard is In - 30-12-2010 at 10:50

From the WiZard's collection of abscondite and forbidden knowledge.


Nitromethane Foam Explosive

FINAL SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL REPORT ON THE
HIGH-PERFORMANCE HAND-HELD FOAMED NITROMETHANE SYSTEM

www.itep.ws/pdf/NMX_report.pdf

US Patent
6 112 633

http://tinyurl.com/2c4lhym


NMX Foam was developed by the Golden West Humanitarian Foundation

http://tinyurl.com/2anuffg

Tests of NMX Foam vs. landmines.

Operational Evaluation Test of Mine Neutralization Systems
April 2005
Prepared by Institute for Defense Analyses
Humanitarian Demining Research and Development Program
Night Vision and Electronic Sensors Directorate

www.itep.ws/pdf/FinalReportNeutSysEval.pdf


------
Combined w/ US Patent 6 438 191 - Explosive Scabbling of
Structural Materials, NMX Foam could make a really interesting depilatory (shaving cream)!



djh
-----
Do you believe that the sciences would ever had
arisen and became great if there had not beforehand
been magicians, alchemists, astrologers and WiZards,
who thirsted and hungered after abscondite and
forbidden powers?
Friedrich Nietzsche
Die fröhliche Wissenschaft, IV, 1886



DougTheMapper - 31-12-2010 at 05:34

I find this quite interesting although its use seems limited by the sheer lack of density.

A solid foam might be interesting when soaked with water. Since water is virtually incompressible, it might exhibit the ability to transmit great force using a minimal amount of actual explosive and reduce collateral damage. Then again, the same affect could likely be achieved with a simple container of water and a more conventional single charge. The latter is probably preferable to ensure complete detonation anyway. I'm thinking and typing at the same time...

Interesting nonetheless. It might find use in demolitions as a structural injectant.

The WiZard is In - 31-12-2010 at 11:25

Quote: Originally posted by DougTheMapper  


A solid foam might be interesting when soaked with water. Since water is virtually incompressible, it might exhibit the ability to transmit great force using a minimal amount of actual explosive and reduce collateral damage. Then again, the same affect could likely be achieved with a simple container of water and a more conventional single charge. The latter is probably preferable to ensure complete detonation anyway. I'm thinking and typing at the same time...


Not a foam .... however......

Compressed gun cotton w/ 25% water added works wonders.

Compressed gun cotton for Military Use
Max von Förster, John Philip Wisser - 1886

http://tinyurl.com/36tfkqc

[If I removed from my shelves all the books that can
now be had at Google.com/books ......! Sigh.]

Several patents found while looking at the NMH patent that
maybe of interest/use.

Nitroparaffine - sensitizer
6 405 627

Foamed Liquid Explosive Composition 1961
Nitromethane &c.
2 967 099

Liquid Explosive Composition 1999
6 007 648
Nitromethane &c.

Foamed Nitroparaffin Explosive
4 925 505

--------
Nobody answered two of my trivia questions so...

Dale Arden Flash Gordon's sidekick was a chemist.

The second heaviest liquid at room temp (after Hg) is
a saturated alcoholic solution of thallium ethanolate EtOTl.

An alloy of Tl 8.5, Kg 91.5 is used in low temp thermometers.
Wonder what the density is. Nothing a little algebra couldn't
answer.






[Edited on 31-12-2010 by The WiZard is In]

Foamed mixtures

franklyn - 21-11-2012 at 09:30

Attachment: Foam Explosives.pdf (1.5MB)
This file has been downloaded 741 times

Explosive Aerogels

franklyn - 5-12-2012 at 11:45

http://www.llnl.gov/str/RSimpson.html

.

497 - 5-12-2012 at 14:52

Why restrict it to solid and liquid explosives? Fuel+oxodizer gas mixture filled foam could make "single event" FAE reliably work. At least single event in the sense of lacking millisecond timing and dispersion problems. You could gain synergy by utilizing a safe to handle but energetic liquid to form foam with a fairly insensitive/inexpensive fuel gas mixture. Diglyceryl esters are known to form stable foams with oils. I could see getting a lengthened shockwave from the secondary combustion of an oil foam after the initial stoiciometric gas detonation.

Add miscible foaming liquid of choice to a bottle of liquid propane, then when you're far away release the liquid through a venturi to mix with air at a reliable ratio. Should be relatively fast to deploy.

It would also be very interesting to experiment with using concentrated inorganic oxidizer solutions, hydrogen peroxide, metal powders, etc. Haha, maybe use N2O4+kerosene as the liquid and N2O4+butane as the gas component, so that in pressurized liquid form it is too OB negative to be sensitive, but once the pressure is reduced a stoiciometric gas bubble phase forms??

Adding a few % ether or even better methyl nitrate to the liquid should rid you of any troubles with FAE sensitivity. I could even imagine a foam system that would transition to detonation from a flame/spark igniter! I wanted to post these ideas a couple months ago but got way too busy...

What would happen if you foamed a very OB negative/metalized liquid explosive with the right amount of air to balance? Could that create a higher secondary shock because the detonation product combustion would be "premixed"?

[Edited on 5-12-2012 by 497]