Impact of nitromethane additive on ANFO performance

The article presents an evaluation of the detonation performance of a nitromethane-ammonium nitrate fuel oil energetic material. The brisance and relative strength of this material were assessed using the Hess and Trauzl methods. Both methods confirmed that the shattering effect and relative work increase in a polynomial manner with the increasing content of nitromethane. A significant enhancement in detonation parameters was observed with up to 9% nitromethane addition. The results from the Trauzl and Hess tests indicated that at 9% nitromethane content, the average cavity expansion and brisance were 371 cm³ and 10.01 mm, respectively. The improved detonation performance is attributed to the introduction of additional nitro groups from nitromethane, replacing fuel oil, as well as the increased density of the energetic material.