cis-1,3,4,6-Tetranitrooctahydroimidazo-[4,5-d]imidazole (BCHMX) as a part of explosive mixtures

Abstract

cis-1,3,4,6-Tetranitrooctahydroimidazo-[4,5-d]imidazole (BCHMX) is a relatively available bicyclic nitramine in the present. Due to the high energetic content of its molecule (deformation of valence angles) it has heat of formation higher than 1,3,5,7-tetranitro-1,3,5,7-tetrazocane (HMX) by nearly three times. As a result, it has heat of explosion and relative explosive strength exceed that of HMX including their corresponding PBXs. However, penetration abilities of PBXs based on HMX are higher than those based on BCHMX. The relatively high initiation reactivity of BCHMX could be modified in a wide range by its incorporation in a suitable polymeric matrices. Regarding to the performance, coating of BCHMX crystals by 5 wt% Viton A produces the maximum performance while the mixture of BCHMX with polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) seems to be the optimum composition for the development of PBX with low sensitivity.