Ammonium perchlorate
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Ammonium perchlorate, NH4NO3, is a strong oxidizing agent, a constituent of explosives and solid rocket propellants, and itself an explosive.
Explosive characteristics
It is unusual in that its best explosive performance is at high, not low, porosity.[1]
Safety
In one memorable blast at an ammonium perchlorate factory in 1988, 2 people were killed and 372 injured in Henderson, Nevada when approximately 4000 tons detonated. The intensity was compounded by a high-pressure natural gas line running under the poorly chosen factory site.[2]
Rocket engines
The Space Shuttle solid rocket boosters use a mixture of aluminium perchlorate, aluminium powder and an iron oxide catalyst in a rubberized binder.
References
- ↑ Donna Price, A. R. Clairmont, Jr., and I. Jaffe, Explosive Behavior of Ammonium Perchlorate, U.S. Naval Ordnance Laboratory, White Oak, Maryland, U.S. Navy
- ↑ J. Gordon Routley, Fire and Explosions at Rocket Fuel Plant Henderson, Nevada, U.S. Fire Administration, Federal Emergency Management Agency