The Relationship Between Oxygen Index and the Flashing Propensity of Explosively Disseminated Liquids.

摘要

The oxygen index of a material is a fundamental laboratory measure of its flammability which describes the material's tendency to burn once ignited. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the ability of the oxygen index to predict the relative flashing propensity of liquid compounds when explosively disseminated. If such a predictive capability can be established,it would allow the flashing propensity of new chemical warfare agents to be estimated and agent simulants to be screened to determine their flashing behavior. Under this study,the oxygen indices of 16compounds were measured and their flashing propensities were determined when explosively disseminated. The dissemination trials were conducted in an instrumented blast chamber with test munitions which were reduced scale models of the M687projectile. It was found that: (1) for the experimental conditions used there is a relationship between laboratory flammability measurements of a material and its flashing propensity when explosively disseminated. (2) the relative flashing behavior of a material is best predicted by a new parameter,the flash index,which includes both the material's flash point and its oxygen index. (3) For a specific munition design, a transition point in material flash index values exists,above which little or no flashing occurs and below which flashing occurs with increasing severity. (Author)