Irreversible Volume Expansion of a TATB-Based Composite and Compressive Strength

It has long been known that compacted composites containing TATB (triaminotrinitrobenzene) crystals undergo "ratchet growth," an irreversible volume expansion upon thermal cycling. A clear mechanism has not been established for this phenomenon, but is believed to arise from the highly-anisotropic CTE of TATB crystals and interactions caused by compaction. Explosive performance depends fundamentally on bulk density, so the effect may be important. PBX 9502 is a plastic bonded explosive containing 95 wt% TATB crystals. We have monitored uniaxial length changes of PBX 9502 specimens for various thermal cycles providing mechanistic insight. Post-cycled specimens were compression tested to determine if mechanical properties correlated with the detailed thermal history.