Preparation and Performance of CL-20-based Ultraviolet-curable High-explosive Ink and Its Application in Rigid Explosive Networks by Direct Ink Writing

To improve the groove charge consistency and density and to reduce the initiation synchronicity error of a rigid multi-point initiation explosive network, a CL-20-based ultraviolet (UV)-curable high-explosive ink, comprising 42 wt.% sub-micron CL-20, a 55.4 wt.% binder system (including 2.0 wt.% NC and 53.4 wt.% butyl acetate), and 2.6 wt.% UV-curable resin, based on direct ink writing (DIW) technology, was prepared. The properties of the composite sample deposited via DIW were characterized. The results indicated that the sample had good uniformity, with few defects, and a critical detonation size of around 1.5×0.283 mm. A six-point initiation explosive network was designed for the integration of DIW technology and precise press-loading of the charge. The network featured six pre-pressed booster pellets with the same charge density (ρ0 = 1.89 g·cm−3, 95.8% of theoretical maximum density) as the output end charges, and a groove channel charged by DIW and press-loading. This procedure increased the density of the booster charge in the groove channels to 1.890 g·cm−3, effectively improved the consistency of the charge density between the groove Central European Journal of Energetic Materials ISSN 1733-7178; e-ISSN 2353-1843 Copyright © 2021 Łukasiewicz Research Network – Institute of Industrial Organic Chemistry, Poland 87 Preparation and Performance of CL-20-based Ultraviolet-curable High-explosive... Copyright © 2021 Łukasiewicz Research Network – Institute of Industrial Organic Chemistry, Poland channels and the output ends and lowered the initiation synchronicity error of the network to 62 ns. The network can initiate a jetting projectile charge (JPC) with good shape and small lateral offset, implying that the network initiation capability and synchronization meet the operational requirements of JPC