Effects of Low-Level Gamma Radiation on Common Nitroaromatic, Nitramine, and Nitrate Ester Explosives

The aging of high explosives in an ionizing radiation field is not well understood, and little work has been done in the low dose and low dose rate regime. In this study, four explosives were exposed to low-level gamma irradiation from a ¹³⁷Cs source: PETN, PATO, and PBX 9501 both with and without the Irganox 1010 stabilizer. Post-irradiation analysis included GC–MS of the headspace gas, SEM of the pellets and powder, NMR spectroscopy, DSC analysis, impact sensitivity tests, and ESD sensitivity tests. Overall, no significant change to the materials was seen for the dose and dose rate explored in this study. A small change in the ¹H NMR spectrum of PETN was observed and SEM and ESD results suggest a surface energy change in PATO, but these differences are minor and do not appear to have a substantial impact on the handling safety.