Increased impact sensitivity in ageing high explosives; analysis of Amatol extracted from explosive remnants of war
Millions of tonnes of explosive remnants of war remain in nature and their volume is continuously growing. The explosive legacy of wars represents an increasing threat to the environment and societal safety and security. As munitions continue to deteriorate, harmful constituents will eventually leak...
| Main Authors: | , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
The Royal Society
2024-03-01
|
| Series: | Royal Society Open Science |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.231344 |
| _version_ | 1797242785052491776 |
|---|---|
| author | Geir P. Novik Dennis Christensen |
| author_facet | Geir P. Novik Dennis Christensen |
| author_sort | Geir P. Novik |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Millions of tonnes of explosive remnants of war remain in nature and their volume is continuously growing. The explosive legacy of wars represents an increasing threat to the environment and societal safety and security. As munitions continue to deteriorate, harmful constituents will eventually leak into the environment, poisoning ecological receptors and contaminating the surrounding soil and groundwater. Moreover, munition deterioration due to exposure to various environmental factors may ultimately cause them to become increasingly sensitive to external stimuli and susceptible to accidental detonation. To thoroughly assess how to address these ageing munitions, we must first establish certain threshold values for safe and secure handling and final disposal of the explosive ordnance. One key factor is to establish how the impact sensitivity of the explosives evolves over time. In the present work, we investigated the high-explosive substance Amatol extracted from ageing explosive remnants of war. The results obtained in the analysis indicate that the high explosives in the examined specimens were generally much more sensitive to impact than previously assumed. Furthermore, the analysis revealed that the standardized methodology of impact sensitivity testing was insufficient for estimating the sensitivities in question, and a more careful statistical analysis is required. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-24T18:44:44Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f0185d0248ae4bf48228be8a48d73e4b |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2054-5703 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T18:44:44Z |
| publishDate | 2024-03-01 |
| publisher | The Royal Society |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Royal Society Open Science |
| spelling | doaj.art-f0185d0248ae4bf48228be8a48d73e4b2024-03-27T08:05:34ZengThe Royal SocietyRoyal Society Open Science2054-57032024-03-0111310.1098/rsos.231344Increased impact sensitivity in ageing high explosives; analysis of Amatol extracted from explosive remnants of warGeir P. Novik0Dennis Christensen1Department of Safety, Economics and Planning, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Stavanger, P.O. Box 8600 , Stavanger 4036, NorwayNorwegian Defence Research Establishment (FFI), P.O. Box 25 , Kjeller 2027, NorwayMillions of tonnes of explosive remnants of war remain in nature and their volume is continuously growing. The explosive legacy of wars represents an increasing threat to the environment and societal safety and security. As munitions continue to deteriorate, harmful constituents will eventually leak into the environment, poisoning ecological receptors and contaminating the surrounding soil and groundwater. Moreover, munition deterioration due to exposure to various environmental factors may ultimately cause them to become increasingly sensitive to external stimuli and susceptible to accidental detonation. To thoroughly assess how to address these ageing munitions, we must first establish certain threshold values for safe and secure handling and final disposal of the explosive ordnance. One key factor is to establish how the impact sensitivity of the explosives evolves over time. In the present work, we investigated the high-explosive substance Amatol extracted from ageing explosive remnants of war. The results obtained in the analysis indicate that the high explosives in the examined specimens were generally much more sensitive to impact than previously assumed. Furthermore, the analysis revealed that the standardized methodology of impact sensitivity testing was insufficient for estimating the sensitivities in question, and a more careful statistical analysis is required.https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.231344unexploded ordnanceERWthe bruceton methodsensitivity analysishigh explosives |
| spellingShingle | Geir P. Novik Dennis Christensen Increased impact sensitivity in ageing high explosives; analysis of Amatol extracted from explosive remnants of war Royal Society Open Science unexploded ordnance ERW the bruceton method sensitivity analysis high explosives |
| title | Increased impact sensitivity in ageing high explosives; analysis of Amatol extracted from explosive remnants of war |
| title_full | Increased impact sensitivity in ageing high explosives; analysis of Amatol extracted from explosive remnants of war |
| title_fullStr | Increased impact sensitivity in ageing high explosives; analysis of Amatol extracted from explosive remnants of war |
| title_full_unstemmed | Increased impact sensitivity in ageing high explosives; analysis of Amatol extracted from explosive remnants of war |
| title_short | Increased impact sensitivity in ageing high explosives; analysis of Amatol extracted from explosive remnants of war |
| title_sort | increased impact sensitivity in ageing high explosives analysis of amatol extracted from explosive remnants of war |
| topic | unexploded ordnance ERW the bruceton method sensitivity analysis high explosives |
| url | https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.231344 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT geirpnovik increasedimpactsensitivityinageinghighexplosivesanalysisofamatolextractedfromexplosiveremnantsofwar AT dennischristensen increasedimpactsensitivityinageinghighexplosivesanalysisofamatolextractedfromexplosiveremnantsofwar |