No, but such reports build community. "You made an inexplicable error too? Oh
good, I thought it was just me..."
-R
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
-----Original Message-----
From: Peter Fairbrother <zenadsl6186@xxxxxxxxx>
Sender: arocket-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Date: Thu, 23 Jul 2015 21:08:09
To: <arocket@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Reply-To: arocket@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [AR] Re: PEPCON AP explosion report
On 23/07/15 15:38, Anthony Cesaroni wrote:
There’s also a U.S. patent that describes subjecting AP with a higher
than normal moisture content to vacuum and heat using at higher than
normal drying parameters. This results in extensive micro-fracturing of
the particles. The burn rate increases but other ballistic
characteristics can as well. The repeatability of the practice is suspect.
A few years ago, there was a Delta failure shortly after launch. The
burning propellant chunks from the GEM solid boosters left much larger
impact craters than were expected when they hit the ground. This led the
investigators to suspect localized DDT upon impact. Shortly thereafter,
the DoD began seeking wide area gap testing on all solid rocket motors
over 6” in diameter as I recall. The DOT declined claiming the DoD did
not have jurisdiction.
On a side note, I once examined a particle of AP in a scanning electron
microscope without any sputter coating and at a fairly high acceleration
voltage. When I zoomed in, the electron beam bored an almost perfectly
square hole through the particle!
