U.S. patent number 3,789,760 [Application Number 05/243,651] was granted by the patent office on 1974-02-05 for enclosure for explosive material.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Commercial Solvents Corporation. Invention is credited to George L. Griffith.
United States Patent |
3,789,760 |
Griffith |
February 5, 1974 |
ENCLOSURE FOR EXPLOSIVE MATERIAL
Abstract
An enclosure for explosive material providing a safe, easily
handled explosive booster or primer which can utilize liquid,
slurry or solid explosive and which includes recesses to receive
detonators. The explosive material is completely enclosed in a
container, which illustratively might be an aluminum can including
a sealed cover. A sleeve encircles the container. The sleeve and
the container cooperate to form recesses for receiving detonators.
One type of recess is open on only one end to retain a detonator
such as a blasting cap. Another type of recess is open on two
opposite ends to permit threading of a detonating cord on which the
primer is suspended. The recesses might be formed by indentations
in the container sidewall or by furrows in the sleeve. The sleeve
can include explosive material to add to the explosive force of the
detonator, thereby assuring actuation of the primer.
Inventors: |
Griffith; George L.
(Coopersburg, PA) |
Assignee: |
Commercial Solvents Corporation
(Terre Haute, IN)
|
Family
ID: |
22919581 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/243,651 |
Filed: |
April 13, 1972 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
102/331; 102/318;
102/306 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F42B
3/00 (20130101); F42B 3/26 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
F42B
3/26 (20060101); F42B 3/00 (20060101); F42b
003/08 () |
Field of
Search: |
;102/24R,24HC |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Pendegrass; Verlin R.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Morton, Bernard, Brown, Roberts
& Sutherland
Claims
1. An enclosure for explosive material comprising:
a cylindrical container including an enclosed lower end having a
concave outer surface, a sidewall sealingly secured to said lower
end and having a plurality of elongated recesses therein
substantially equally spaced angularly about the sidewall, and a
cover having a concave outer surface and adapted to be sealingly
secured to said sidewall to form an enclosed, sealed container,
and
a sleeve adapted to fit over said lower end onto said sidewall,
said sleeve and said sidewall recesses cooperating to receive at
least one detonator;
said lower end concave outer surface, said cover concave outer
surface and said recesses providing a shaped charge effect upon
explosion of explosive
2. An enclosure as claimed in claim 1 in which at least one of said
plurality of elongated recesses extends longitudinally on said
enclosure
3. An enclosure as claimed in claim 2 in which at least one of said
plurality of elongated recesses extends longitudinally on said
enclosure
4. An enclosure as claimed in claim 3 in which at least one of said
plurality of elongated recesses extends longitudinally on said
enclosure
5. An enclosure as claimed in claim 1 in which said container is
an
6. An enclosure as claimed in claim 1 in which said sleeve is a
fiber
7. An enclosure as claimed in claim 6 in which said fiber sleeve
is
8. An enclosure as claimed in claim 1 in which said sleeve is a
plastic
9. An enclosure as claimed in claim 8 in which said sleeve includes
an
10. An enclosure as claimed in claim 1 in which said sleeve
comprises a band of explosive plastic wrapped about the container
and over the
11. An enclosure as claimed in claim 1 in which the sleeve includes
at substantially the longitudinal center thereof a circular rib of
an explosive material.
Description
The present invention pertains to an enclosure for explosive
material. More particularly, present invention pertains to an
explosive primer including an explosive material in a container
such as an aluminum can and a sleeve fitting around the can and
cooperating with the can to form recesses adapted to receive a
blasting cap or detonating cord for actuating the explosive
primer.
Explosive primers or boosters are frequently utilized in the
detonation of explosive material. Insensitive explosives, such as
those containing a high percentage of ammonium nitrate and
nonexplosive organic sensitizers, are not generally detonatable by
such conventional means as blasting caps, detonating cords and
fuses. These insensitive explosives, therefore, are generally
detonated by utilizing an explosive primer or booster which is more
sensitive and is, therefore, detonated by the blasting cap or
detonating cord. The explosive primer or booster might include
material such as dynamite or TNT. Other boosters include an outer
layer of a relatively insensitive explosive material of high
brisance such as pentolite, cyclonite (RDX) and composition B (RDX,
TNT and wax) and an inner layer of more sensitive explosive
material such as pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN), and finely
divided pentolite (PETN and TNT). Liquid explosive materials such
as nitromethane-containing products are also usable, and in many
instances, are preferable.
Solid explosive boosters are frequently manufactured by casting the
explosive material in the desired configuration. In the casting
process suitable recesses can be cast into the explosive material
to receive a blasting cap or detonating cord. Liquid explosive, on
the other hand, cannot be cast and so requires a container which is
adapted to readily receive a blasting cap or detonating cord while
providing secure storage of the liquid explosive. No such container
has been available heretofore.
The present invention is an enclosure for holding explosive
material to provide an explosive primer or booster. The present
invention is adapted for use with either a liquid, a slurry or a
solid explosive material. Since the present invention provides the
finished explosive booster in a completely closed container, the
explosive booster can be safely handled without fear of spillage or
accidental detonation. In accordance with the present invention a
container such as a can of a size to hold the desired quantity of
explosive material is provided with a sleeve to fit over the
container. The container and the sleeve cooperate to provide one or
more recesses for receiving a detonator such as a blasting cap or a
detonating cord. In one embodiment of the present invention the
recesses are provided by indentations in the surface of the
container. In another embodiment of the invention the recesses are
provided by forming furrows in the sleeve which fits over a
smooth-walled container. Because the container is entirely
enclosed, the explosive material can be safely handled, with the
recesses permitting rapid installation of a detonator.
These and other aspects and advantages of the present invention are
more apparent in the following detailed description and claims,
particularly when considered in conjunction with the accompanying
drawings in which like parts bear like reference numerals. In the
drawings:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an explosive booster in accordance
with the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line 2--2 of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line 3--3 of FIG. 2;
FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a modified embodiment of an explosive
booster in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 5 is a fragmantary sectional view of another modified
embodiment of an explosive booster in accordance with the present
invention;
FIGS. 6, 7 and 8 are perspective views of additional embodiments of
explosive boosters in accordance with the present invention;
and
FIGS. 9A and 9B are fragmentary sectional views of alternative
embodiments of the explosive booster of FIG. 8 and are each taken
along line 9--9 of FIG. 8.
FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 depict a preferred embodiment of explosive booster
10 in accordance with the present invention. Booster 10 includes a
container 12 having its side surface and bottom surface formed in
one piece, for example by an extrusion process. Container 12 is
enclosed by cover 14 which is preferably concave and which is
sealed to the container. Preferably, cover 14 includes in
substantially its center an opening 15 with a cap 16 inserted
therein to provide a liquid-tight seal. Cap 16, therefore, provides
a safety valve, and so if, for example, container 12 is hit by a
projectile or is in a fire, causing pressure within the container
to increase, cap 16 pops off to prevent explosion. A plurality of
indentations are formed in the side surface of container 12. Thus,
for example, indentations 18 are provided on opposite sides of the
container and extend longitudinally from the junction of lower end
20 and container sidewall 21 to a point part way up container 12,
for example a point in the order of three-fourths the height of
container 12. Likewise, indentations 22 are formed in the side
surface of container 12 on opposite sides of the container and at
approximately 90.degree. from indentations 18. Indentations 22
extend from the junction of lower end 20 and sidewall 21 to a point
very near top 14 and thus further up sidewall 21 than do
indentations 18.
Sleeve 24 fits snugly but slidingly about container 12. Preferably
sidewall 21 is slightly tapered so that sleeve 24 slides onto
container 12 from lower end 20 until the lower edge 26 of sleeve 24
is adjacent lower end 20. In this position sleeve 24 covers
indentations 18 over substantially their entire length, while
indentations 22 extend slightly above sleeve 24.
Preferably, a concave indentation 28 is provided in the lower end
20 of container 12. The concave surfaces of cover 14 and lower end
20 give a shaped charged effect to the explosion which results upon
detonation of explosive primer 10, as do indentations 18 and
22.
Container 12 is filled with an explosive material 30 which can be a
liquid, such as nitromethane, or a slurry or a solid. RDX, for
example, can be heated to a liquid state, poured into container 12,
and cooled to solidify to provide an explosive booster of this
solid explosive material. FIG. 3 illustrates the interior of
container 12 without the explosive material 30 in place.
Preferably, container 12 is a seamless metal can formed of
aluminum, for example by an extrusion process, with the result that
on detonation of explosive booster 10 the aluminum oxidizes at an
extremely high temperature, reacting with the explosive atmosphere
to create additional heat and explosive velocity. Sleeve 24 might
be formed of a fiber material such as cardboard or of a plastic
material. With an explosve booster of this type in accordance with
the present invention, explosive velocities in the order of Mach 30
might be achieved.
When it is desired to ignite an explosive charge with explosive
primer or booster 10, the booster is detonated with a detonating
device such as a blasting cap or a detonating cord. To achieve
this, the booster can be inverted from the position depicted in
FIG. 1 and blasting caps inserted into recesses 18. Since recesses
18 do not extend beyond sleeve 24, the blasting caps do not fall
out. The blasting cap lead wires extend from the recesses 18 to
permit actuation of the blasting caps. Alternatively, a detonating
cord of, for example, PETN can be threaded through each recess 22
so that sleeve 24 retains explosive primer 10 at the desired
location on the detonating cord. By this means several explosive
boosters 10 can be positioned on a single detonating cord which is
threaded through a recess 22 of each booster.
If explosive booster 10 is filled with a liquid explosive material,
either the liquid can be placed into container 12 before top 14 is
installed, or top 14 can be installed first and the liquid
explosive material introduced through opening 15 in the center of
top 14 with opening 15 subsequently closed by cap 16. If the liquid
is a normally solid explosive which has been heated to the liquid
state, it can be cooled to return it to the solid state before
inserting cap 16.
FIG. 4 depicts a modified embodiment of an explosive booster in
accordance with the present invention. Explosive material 30 is
provided within container 32 which has a smootn sidewall 33. The
sidewall 35 of sleeve 34 is provided with furrows 36 and 38 which
cooperate with sidewall 33 of container 32 to form receptacles for
the detonator. Thus furrows 36 and 38 are formed integrally in
sleeve sidewall 35. Furrows 36 might extend from the bottom of
sleeve 34 to a point just below the top of the sleeve to receive a
blasting cap, while furrows 38 can extend the entire length of the
sleeve to permit threading of the booster onto a detonating
cord.
FIG. 5 depicts a slightly modified embodiment of sleeve for use in
conjunction with a smooth-walled container such as container 32.
The explosive material 30 is within smooth-walled container 32
surrounded by sleeve 40. Sleeve 40 includes a sidewall 42 having a
smooth inner surface. Furrows 44 extend outwardly from sleeve
sidewall 42 to form recesses 46 for the blasting caps or detonating
cords.
Rather than being made of a nonexplosive material such as cardboard
or nonexplosive plastic, the sleeves 24, 34 or 40 could be made of
an explosive material such as a sheet explosive, one of which is
available from E. I. duPont de Nemours & Co., Inc., under the
trademark Detasheet. If an explosive plastic of that type is to be
used, then it need not encompass the entire length of can 12. FIG.
6, for example, depicts a container 48, having recesses 50
extending only over a short portion of the length thereof for
receipt of a detonator, and a short sleeve or band 52 of explosive
plastic such as Detasheet wrapped about the container at the recess
50. Sleeve 52, therefore, serves to hold the detonator, either a
blasting cap or a detonating cord, within the recess 50. FIG. 7
depicts a sleeve 54 including upper portion 56 and lower portion 58
of, for example, a fiber or a nonexplosive plastic and joined by
center rib 60 of an explosive material such as Detasheet. Sleeve 54
can be utilized with container 12 having recesses 18 and 22 as
depicted in FIG. 1. The explosive material such as sleeve 52 or rib
60 provides additional explosive force directed into the container,
thereby ensuring detonation of the explosive material within the
container. FIG. 8 depicts a container 62 having an upper portion 64
and a lower portion 66 each of a nonexplosive material such as
aluminum and joined by an explosive rib 68. As seen in FIG. 9A,
explosive rib 68 can fit within a notch 70 of the sleeve so that
upper portion 64, lower portion 66 and notch 70 are a single piece.
Alternatively, as depicted in FIG. 9B, upper portion 64 and lower
portion 66 can be separate pieces connected by explosive rib 68.
The container 62 of FIG. 8 can be utilized with a sleeve such as
sleeve 34 of FIG. 4 or sleeve 40 of FIG. 5, having furrows.
It is thus seen that in accordance with the present invention there
is provided a container for explosive material which permits sure,
safe handling of liquid, slurry or solid explosive, while providing
means for the ready insertion of a detonator. While the preceding
has set forth several embodiments of containers in accordance with
the present invention, numerous modifications and rearrangements
could be made, and still the result would be within the scope of
the invention.
* * * * *