Chemistry of Detonations. IV. Evaluation of a Simple Predictional Method for Detonation Velocities of C–H–N–O Explosives

Measured detonation velocities of a variety of C–H–N–O explosives agree with values predicted from the equation D = 1.01φ1 / 2(1 + 1.30ρ0), where φ = NM1 / 2Q1 / 2, with an average absolute error of ∼1%. The H2O–CO2 arbitrary assumption of detonation product compositions is used in the calculation of N, the number of moles of detonation gases per gram of explosive; M, the average molecular weight of these gases; and Q, the chemical energy of the detonation reaction.