Effects of Embedded Energetic Sensors Within an RDX-Based Explosive

The electrically conductive polymer poly (3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS) has been combined with the explosive pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN) to form an electrically conductive, additively manufacturable explosive (CAMX). The material is shown to be additively manufacturable at an extrusion filament diameter of 700 µm. The CAMX underwent preliminary explosive safety testing including differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), impact and friction sensitivity testing, and electrostatic discharge (ESD) testing. The electromechanical and thermoresistive properties of the cured CAMX were characterized via tensile tests and heated chamber tests respectively. The detonation velocity was measured using an 11 pin-wire rate stick measurement. Filament strands of energetic sensor material, along with other variants, have been placed within a bulk HTPB+RDX based explosive and the effects of the embedded sensors on the detonation front curvature, downstream of the sensor material, has been observed using streak imaging. Methods for limiting the intrusiveness of embedded sensors will be discussed.