High Blast Explosive
Type of explosive
High Blast Explosive, or HBX, is an explosive used as a bursting charge in missile warheads, mines, depth bombs, depth charges, and torpedoes.
01History
It was developed during World War II as a desensitized modification of Torpex explosives.
02Properties
It is an aluminized (powdered aluminum) explosive having the same order of sensitivity as Composition B.
Tests indicate that it is about 98% to 100% as powerful as Torpex, that it is definitely less sensitive than Torpex in both laboratory impact and bullet impact, that it is slightly more sensitive in these respects than TNT, and that it is about the same order as Composition B.
A difficulty with HBX is that water slowly reacts with aluminium powder and produces hydrogen gas, building up pressure in the case during storage. It was discovered that adding calcium chloride to the mixture will absorb all the moisture and eliminate the gassing.
03Composition
There are three types of HBX explosives: HBX-1, HBX-3, and H-6. Below is each type's "Grade A" composition based on weight:
- HBX-1
| Composition | Percent by weight |
|---|---|
| RDX plus nitrocellulose, calcium chloride and calcium silicate | 40.4 ± 3% |
| TNT | 37.8 ± 3% |
| Aluminum | 17.1 ± 3% |
| Wax plus lecithin | 4.7 ± 1% |
- HBX-3
| Composition | Percent by weight |
|---|---|
| RDX plus nitrocellulose, calcium chloride and calcium silicate | 31.3 ± 3% |
| TNT | 29.0 ± 3% |
| Aluminum | 34.8 ± 3% |
| Wax plus lecithin | 4.9 ± 1% |
- H-6
| Composition | Percent by weight |
|---|---|
| RDX plus nitrocellulose, calcium chloride and calcium silicate | 45.1 ± 3% |
| TNT | 29.2 ± 3% |
| Aluminum | 21.0 ± 3% |
| Wax plus lecithin | 4.7 ± 1% |
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “High Blast Explosive”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
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