Influence of TiH2/PTFE mass ratio on the detonation performance of RDX-Based active shell thermobaric explosives

To investigate the coupling mechanisms of detonation energy release between the TiH 2 /PTFE active shell and RDX explosive, an RDX-based active shell thermobaric explosive containing TiH 2 /PTFE powders was prepared. The effects of the TiH 2 /PTFE mass ratio on the shock wave parameters and afterburning effect of the thermobaric explosives were investigated. The energy release characteristics of the optimal TiH 2 /PTFE ratio under varying vacuum degrees were evaluated using a 0.9 m 3 spherical explosive chamber and colorimetric thermometry method. The experimental results demonstrated that as the PTFE powders content in the active shell increased, the shock wave intensity, explosion fireball duration, and maximum average temperature of the thermobaric explosives initially increased and then decreased, peaking at a TiH 2 /PTFE mass ratio of 1:1. Compared to the TiH 2 -based thermobaric explosives without PTFE, the 1:1 TiH 2 /PTFE formulation exhibited increases of 45.9% in peak overpressure, 69.7% in fireball duration, and 7.2% in maximum average temperature. Thus, an optimal PTFE content significantly enhances the energy release efficiency of the RDX/TiH 2 /PTFE thermobaric explosives. Furthermore, the energy release efficiency of thermobaric explosives was influenced by the vacuum degree, with the maximum average temperature, peak overpressure, positive impulse, positive pressure action time, and fireball duration decreasing by 10.8%, 35.3%, 52.1%, 65.5%, and 46.4%, respectively, as the vacuum degree increased from 0 to 52.4%.