Types of Explosives. Introduction to Orica North America. Explosives Types 16 June Orica USA Inc Technical Training Orica USA Inc

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1 Introduction to Orica North America Types of Explosives Technical Training Orica USA Inc Course Objectives Discuss 1-2 applications for each of the main explosive types presented Locate Product Fact Sheets on the Mining Services website List 2-3 of the main properties for AN prills List 2-3 of the factors which affect ANFO s performance Discuss why emulsions are such a popular type of explosive Describe the main differences between Low and High Explosives, and provide examples for each Distinguish between Primary, Secondary and Tertiary Explosives Types of Explosives One type of explosive is quite familiar to you Orica USA Inc

2 Types of Explosives Generally speaking, there are two types of explosives: Low Explosives (e.g., black powder) These explosives deflagrate (i.e., burn at a slow rate) rather than detonate and produce lower pressures; used more as propellants High Explosives (e.g., NG, dynamite) These explosives detonate very rapidly and produce extremely high gas pressures; used more to break and move large objects Black Powder (also known as Gunpowder) Invented in 9 th century by Chinese alchemists Burns by deflagration vs. detonation (Low Explosive) so better suited as a propellant than a blasting product Ingredients are: saltpetre(kno 3 ) - oxidizer sulfur (S) - fuel charcoal or sugar (C) - fuel Black Powder Typical applications include: firearms (powder rifles), ammo (bullets) & cannons fireworks and fuses/primers signal flares and blank rounds limited blasting applications Orica USA Inc

3 Nitroglycerine (NG) NG 1 st discovered by Ascario Sobrero in 1846 Ingredients include nitric acid, sulfuric acid, glycerine In pure form, NG is a contact explosive which reacts via detonation (i.e., High Explosive) Uses include dynamites, heart medication, fuel in dragsters (Nitro dragsters, funny cars) Dynamite In 1867, Alfred Nobel mixed NG with absorbants to produce dynamite also blasting caps From the Greek dynamis meaning power Numerous applications in blasting Many dynamites have been replaced by less expensive, AN-based products such as watergels and emulsions Dynamite is not TNT! Nitroglycerine (NG) & Dynamite Current Orica NG/Dynamite Product Line Semi Gelatin Dynamite NG-Sensitized Dynamite Permissible Dynamites Application Column Charge Surface and UG Blasting Specialty Applications Ammonia Dynamites Dimension Stone Quarry and Construction Orica USA Inc

4 Ammonium Nitrate (AN) Is an essential ingredient in nearly all commercial explosives AN-based explosives represent over 80% of U.S. commercial explosives market NH 3 + HNO > NH 4 NO 3 Production of AN prills comes in 2 forms: (1) Agricultural grade used as fertilizer (2) Blasting grade used as oxidizer in explosives Ammonium Nitrate (AN) Prill Synthesis 83% - 86% AN Solution Blasting Grade Evaporator Ag Grade Prilled at 96% - 97% Melt Prilled at 99% Melt Predryer Bypass Dryers Dryer Cooler Screen Prill Tower Prills to Storage Coater Oversize & Fines to Recycle Ammonium Nitrate (AN) Blasting grade AN prills have these main properties: resist crushing (low friability) Prills Fines Orica USA Inc

5 Ammonium Nitrate (AN) Blasting grade AN prills have these main properties: have a low density are affected by cycles (low, high) in temperature Avoid crystallization! Ammonium Nitrate (AN) Blasting grade AN prills have these main properties: have low moisture content (no caking) have a porous surface for better fuel absorbency AN & Fuel Oil (ANFO) Is the simplest commercial explosive available Composed of a mixture of AN (94%) and #2 Diesel Fuel Oil (6%) by weight This ratio is critical! ANFO can be poured, packaged and mixed with emulsions for a variety of blasting needs Packaged ANFO is called Amex Orica USA Inc

6 ANFO Factors affecting the performance of ANFO size of borehole into which it is placed (confinement) % of Fuel Oil in ANFO mixture 4" Confined Pipe Explosive Velocity Unconfined Fuel Oil % ANFO Factors affecting the performance of ANFO moisture in borehole desensitizes ANFO (not water resistant) dry boreholes damp boreholes wet boreholes the booster used to detonate ANFO ANFO Factors affecting the performance of ANFO density of ANFO used pneumatic loading g/cc g/cc Orica USA Inc

7 ANFO Factors affecting the performance of ANFO density of ANFO used blended with polystyrene Orica Flexigel g/cc g/cc Types of Explosives Orica North America AN and ANFO Product Line Where can you access this information? Product Fact Sheets Product Fact Sheets are located at: Here details of dimensions and case quantities are outlined (TDS) along with other data sheets (MSDS) Orica USA Inc

8 Product Fact Sheets Select products here Product Fact Sheets Click here for MSDS pdf Product MSDS Sheets Orica USA Inc

9 Product Fact Sheets Click here for TDS pdf Product TDS Sheets Watergels Developed in the 1950s by Dr. Melvin Cook Until the 1980s were called slurries, now watergel is the preferred term Have a consistency similar to Jello TM Orica USA Inc

10 Watergels A watergel is a continuous, aqueous (water) phase containing dissolved materials including: 1. oxidizers 2. fuels 3. sensitizers 4. cross-linking agent The cross-linking agent creates a gel, making the explosive water-resistant cross-linking agent Watergels Some advantages of watergels over dynamites are fairly insensitive to impact no NG headaches have rubbery consistency can manipulate better Orica NA Watergel Product Line Emulsions Emulsions were developed in 1960s but not commercialized until 1970s By the 1980s, they replaced most slurries, watergels Currently they supply 15-16% of the commercial explosives market Emulsions make up the greatest diversity of explosives products Orica USA Inc

11 Emulsions Watergels Example: Jello Emulsions Example: Miracle Whip Emulsions Watergels Example: Jello Emulsions Example: Miracle Whip Emulsions An emulsion is an intimate mixture of 2 immiscible liquids where one liquid is uniformly dispersed throughout the other liquid Continuous Phase fuel (oil) Dispersed Phase oxidizers (AN) Interface - emulsifiers oil-soluble head water-soluble tail Emulsifier Molecule Orica USA Inc

12 Emulsions The properties of emulsions allowed for the advancement of bulk delivery systems for explosives such as Orica s Mobile Manufacturing Units (MMU), and the ability to manufacture explosive mixtures on site. Emulsions Advantages of emulsion explosives include Emulsions are very versatile can be packaged, poured, blended Have very high explosve energy Can be handled safely Greater efficiency, reliability High degree of water resistance Minimized use of chemical sensitizers Some emulsions Classification of Explosives As stated earlier, explosives can be categorized as either Low Explosives or High Explosives deflagration detonation Can you recall how they are distinguished? Orica USA Inc

13 Examples of Explosives Low Explosives Examples pyrotechnics Applications fireworks blasting agents AN propellants black powder Classification of Explosives High Explosives can be further categorized, based upon their sensitivities: decreasing sensitivity Primary Secondary Tertiary are extremely sensitive to mechanical shock, friction and heat; respond by detonating are relatively insensitive to shock, friction and heat; may burn or detonate when exposed to heat in small, unconfined quantities very insensitive to shock, they require an explosive booster made of secondary explosive Examples of Explosives Primary Explosives Examples Applications lead, sodium azides automobile air bags mercury fulminate lead styphnate i-kon detonator Orica USA Inc

14 Safety Fuse Primafuse Powder Train Iron Staple Lead Azide / Lead Styphnate Primer Charge Primary Explosive PETN Base Charge Secondary Explosive Classification of Explosives Secondary Explosives even can be further categorized by their composition: Molecular consisting of a chemically pure compound PETN crystals oxidizer and fuel are on same molecule Mixtures consisting of an oxidizer and a fuel ANFO prills F F F F AN F AN AN AN AN AN F F AN AN AN AN AN AN AN F F AN AN AN AN AN AN F F F F F F F oxidizer (AN) and fuel (F) are on different molecules Examples of Explosives Secondary Molecular Explosives Examples Applications NG HMX RDX PETN/TNT dynamites shock tube and detonating cord boosters Orica USA Inc

15 Examples of Explosives Secondary Mixtures Explosives Examples emulsions Applications watergels Pentolite Examples of Explosives Tertiary Explosives Examples Applications bulk ANFO ANFO Amex bagged ANFO Examples of Explosives Summary of Explosive Types High (detonation) Low (deflagration) black powder, gunpowder Primary (very sensitive) lead azide, sodium azide, lead styphnate Secondary (insensitive) Tertiary (very insensitive) ANFO Molecular NG, TNT, PETN, HMX, BDX Mixtures emulsions, water gels, Pentolite Orica USA Inc

16 Explosives Types Review Put your thinking caps on. we re going to play Jeopardy! Explosives Types Review Orica Jeopardy Rules 1. Divide into 3 teams 2. Designate team captains - They hold noisemaker 3. Only captain can ring in 4. Anyone can answer but must answer within 3 seconds of ringing in 5. No 2 nd answers! 6. Correct answer controls board Who says blasters don t have a sense of humor? Orica USA Inc

17 Module: Types of Explosives Intro to Orica NA Course Course Date: 15 June 2010 Slide Talking Points or Action Training Resources Temperature check Encourage participants to ask questions of topics that might confuse them 1. As in the last module, this one will be technical in nature where we will apply the information learned in previous modules 2. Before moving on, ask what ONE word comes to mind when you think of explosives ask around room.then advance the slide Extra pens, pencils Bags of assorted candies Laptop and power source (backup?) Projectors (backup) Laser pointer Automatic slide advancer Speakers Many people think of the word FIREWORKS. Be sure speakers are connected This video clip (ca. 20 seconds) of fireworks is designed as an attention-getter Point out that the properties of fireworks are the same as the properties of explosives just discussed in previous module Emphasize the terms deflagration and detonation as they are key terms in this module Page 1

18 Module: Types of Explosives Intro to Orica NA Course Course Date: 15 June 2010 In this section, participants will look at different examples of explosives and relate some of the properties learned earlier to them No talking points here Point out the 3 NO3 (nitrate) groups on the molecule above Compare to AN (N=nitrate) Nitrate groups are chemically very active and thus their use in many explosives Dynamites were the mainstay in the explosives industry for over 130 years but their use, as indicated in the last point, has declined to about a 2% market share in the US today among all explosives sold Even with such a low market overall, there are still places and circumstances where dynamite and NG use are preferred especially in international markets where it is considerably less expensive to use than other products Page 2

19 Module: Types of Explosives Intro to Orica NA Course Course Date: 15 June 2010 Emphasize the last point: There are indeed different types of AN prills, each with a different energy content due to the way they are manufactured. Blasting prills tend to be less dense (affects explosive sensitivity) and have a more porous surface (affects how well will accept coatings such as FO, provide hot spots for ignition points) Prill is formed as it moves through a prill tower: 1. At top, AN solution is sprayed through shower heads liquid AN droplets form and free fall 2. After falling feet, droplets cool and crystallize into spherical prills 3. Further down in tower, they are dried, cooled, screened for size, then coatings applied Friability = ease of crushing Point out that crystallization in explosives is very undesirable as it affects explosive sensitivity 1.Caking is undesirable as it can clog up the distribution system of AN 2.Point out desirability of having a porous surface to application of FO on prill Page 3

20 Module: Types of Explosives Intro to Orica NA Course Course Date: 15 June 2010 The critical ratio of 94:6 is due to Oxygen balance Recall that the amount of oxidizer (oxygen) is significant to an explosive s properties Point out both variables on graph and how they are related to explosive velocity and to one another Briefly talk to each point above: 1.Water is a major concern in blasting 2.Primers can be composed of different explosives, different sizes Show that pneumatic loading involves using air pressure to force product into borehole, effectively compacting explosive and increasing its density Here, one of Orica s products adds very small polystyrene balls to the ANFO to create space between prills and effectively reduce its density See if Jeannyne, Liz have samples of polystyrene Page 4

21 Module: Types of Explosives Intro to Orica NA Course Course Date: 15 June 2010 This next section will show participants how they can obtain product information for any Orica product line in NA Ask how many participants have ever visited this website It s probably good to have it bookmarked along with The Globe and a few more that we ll show today This is the front end to the new and improved Orica NA website Ask participants if they know what MSDS means (Material Safety Data Sheet) These are in pdf format Page 5

22 Module: Types of Explosives Intro to Orica NA Course Course Date: 15 June 2010 Ask participants if they know what TDS means (Technical Data Sheet) Again, these are in pdf format Some documents have images and/or logos, many do not 1. Watergels represented the birth of the water-based explosive industry that share market dominance with ANFO-based products 2. In the left diagram, the pellets are aluminum which are added as a fuel Cross-linkers here are analogous to emulsifiers which we ll see later in emulsion explosives The Apex Super 3000 and Apex Super 6000 are Orica s watergel products Page 6

23 Module: Types of Explosives Intro to Orica NA Course Course Date: 15 June 2010 No talking points here Pass around sample chubs, actual emulsion samples in jars (if possible) get from Marketing There are 2 slides here Think about the consistency of each of the above to help visualize the 2 products 1. Again, the emulsifier here is similar in function to the cross-linkers in watergels in that they help hold things together 2. The fuel oil (non-polar molecule) and the oxidizer (polar molecule) tend not to associate physically The emulsifier prevents them from dispersing by physically connecting to both FO and oxidizer It has two ends which are chemically different, each of which associates with one or the other FO or oxidizer MMUs are a significant component to Orica s delivery systems They have the world s largest fleet of such vehicles. Point out different compartments on truck diagram and briefly talk to them. No talking points Page 7

24 Module: Types of Explosives Intro to Orica NA Course Course Date: 15 June 2010 Ask for participants to answer this question No talking points Most commercial explosives belong to the Tertiary category The i-kon example will be illustrated in greater detail on the next slide Relate primary and secondary explosives to previous slide Page 8

25 Module: Types of Explosives Intro to Orica NA Course Course Date: 15 June 2010 Be sure to clarify the distinction between secondary molecular and secondary mixture explosives. Molecular explosives tend to be more expensive Used in smaller amounts Secondary mixtures have a variety of applications These products tend to dominate the bulk explosives lines Recall that these explosives: 1. are very insensitive and require another explosive to detonate, 2. contain fuel and oxidizer, 3. are used primarily in mining - and unfortunately terrorism No talking points Ask participants along the way to fill in the missing pieces Page 9

26 Module: Types of Explosives Intro to Orica NA Course Course Date: 15 June 2010 Put your thinking caps on! We re gonna play Jeopardy! 1. Regular Jeopardy rules save for these. 2. Keep score of 3 teams using whiteboard Be sure that Jeopardy game plays Whiteboard/markers 3 noisemakers Shirt from 2007 Basic course in Pittsburgh! Page 10