Tritonal is a mixture of 80%

TNT Troponin T (shortened TnT or TropT) is a part of the troponin complex, which are proteins integral to the contraction of skeletal and heart muscles. They are expressed in skeletal and cardiac myocytes. Troponin T binds to tropomyosin and helps ...

and 20%

aluminium Aluminium (or aluminum in North American English) is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Al and atomic number 13. It has a density lower than that of other common metals, about one-third that of steel. Aluminium has ...

powder A powder is a dry solid composed of many very fine particles that may flow freely when shaken or tilted. Powders are a special sub-class of granular materials, although the terms ''powder'' and ''granular'' are sometimes used to distinguish se ...

, used in several types of ordnance such as air-dropped bombs. The aluminium increases the total heat output and hence impulse of the TNT – the length of time during which the blast wave is positive. Tritonal is approximately 18% more powerful than TNT alone. The 87 kg of tritonal in a Mark 82 bomb has the potential to produce approximately 863 MJ of energy when detonated. This implies a

specific energy Specific energy or massic energy is energy per unit mass. It is also sometimes called gravimetric energy density, which is not to be confused with energy density, which is defined as energy per unit volume. It is used to quantify, for example, st ...

of approximately 9 MJ/kg, compared to ~4 MJ/kg for TNT.

History

TNT was first prepared by Julius Wilbrand in 1863. Germany began manufacturing TNT in 1891 and aluminium was first mixed with TNT in 1899 to produce an explosive compound. In 1902, the

German Army The German Army (, 'army') is the land component of the armed forces of Federal Republic of Germany, Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German together with the German Navy, ''Marine'' (G ...

began to use TNT, replacing

picric acid Picric acid is an organic compound with the formula (O2N)3C6H2OH. Its IUPAC name is 2,4,6-trinitrophenol (TNP). The name "picric" comes from (''pikros''), meaning "bitter", due to its bitter taste. It is one of the most acidic phenols. Like ot ...

, and in 1912, the

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

also started to use TNT. TNT production was limited by the availability of toluene which came from coal tar. Therefore, mixtures of TNT with other compounds became widespread to relieve the shortage of TNT. Modern tritonal was developed as a cheaper substitute for

Torpex Torpex ("Torpedo explosive") is a secondary explosive, 50% more powerful than TNT by mass. Torpex comprises 42% RDX, 40% TNT and 18% powdered aluminium. It was used in the Second World War from late 1942, at which time some used the names Torp ...

and HBX under UWE designation (UnderWater Explosive) before it turned out Allies could produce enough

RDX RDX (Research Department Explosive or Royal Demolition Explosive) or hexogen, among other names, is an organic compound with the formula (CH2N2O2)3. It is white, odorless, and tasteless, widely used as an explosive. Chemically, it is classified ...

to cover all naval requirements late in WWII.

References

{{reflist Explosives Trinitrotoluene

History

See also

References