On the bullet sensitivity of commercial explosives and blasting agents

• Published in: Journal of hazardous materials 1975, Vol.1 (2), p.129-136
• Main Authors: Watson, R.W., Brewer, R.L., Mcnall, R.L.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0304-3894; 1873-3336
• DOI: 10.1016/0304-3894(75)85003-5

This paper presents the results of experiments conducted to compare the projectile, cap, and bullet sensitivity of a number of commercial explosives and blasting agents. It was found that No. 8 electric blasting caps having either aluminum or copper shells yield essentially equivalent results in cap sensitivity testing. It was also found that the results of projectile impact tests could be correlated with the results of cap sensitivity measurements in the sense that a projectile velocity could be defined that represented the approximate threshold between cap sensitivity and cap insensitivity. The most important finding was that under ordinary conditions of confinement expected in the transport and storage of explosives, materials that were not sensitive to a No. 8 blasting cap were not observed to be sensitive to rifle-fired bullets.