Chemical Compatibility Assessment of Three Different PBX Formulations with Silicone Sealants

Abstract. Chemical compatibility of energetic materials with their contact materials in munitions is of critical importance due to safety and performance concerns. Therefore, every component of the munition that is in contact or close proximity to the energetic material should be assessed in terms of compatibility before production. In this work, the compatibility of three different PBX compositions (PBX-A, PBX-B and PBX-C) with two different silicone sealants (Silicone-1 and Silicone-2) was investigated, in accordance with AOP 4147 Edition A Version 1 by carrying out Vacuum Stability Test (VST), Heat Flow Calorimetry (HFC), Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) and Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA) for each interface. The results show that Silicone-1 is incompatible with all three explosives, unless testing after aging proves otherwise. Silicone-2 is compatible with PBX-A, but incompatible with PBX-B and PBX-C. Compatibility of Silicone-2 with PBX-B can be further investigated with performance tests after aging.