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Updated: Jun 24, 2026

Research and Development of High-performance Explosives
Published on: February 20, 2016
Nitrogen-rich heterocycles as reactivity retardants in shocked insensitive explosives
M Riad Manaa1, Evan J Reed, Laurence E Fried
1Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Energetic Materials Center, P.O. Box 808, Livermore, California 94551, USA. manaa1@llnl.gov
Abstract:
We report the first quantum-based multiscale simulations to study the reactivity of shocked perfect crystals of the insensitive energetic material triaminotrinitrobenzene (TATB). Tracking chemical transformations of TATB experiencing overdriven shock speeds of 9 km/s for up to 0.43 ns and 10 km/s for up to 0.2 ns reveal high concentrations of nitrogen-rich heterocyclic clusters. Further reactivity of TATB toward the final decomposition products of fluid N(2) and solid carbon is inhibited due to the formation of these heterocycles. Our results thus suggest a new mechanism for carbon-rich explosive materials that precedes the slow diffusion-limited process of forming the bulk solid from carbon clusters and provide fundamental insight at the atomistic level into the long reaction zone of shocked TATB.
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