Guanylurea dinitramide (FOX-12 or GUDN) is a novel

insensitive high explosive Insensitive munitions are ammunition, munitions that are designed to withstand stimuli representative of severe but credible accidents. The current range of stimuli are shock (from bullets, fragments and shaped charge jets), heat (from fires or a ...

History

GUDN was discovered by Abraham Langlet, a chemist at the

Swedish Defence Research Agency The Swedish Defence Research Agency ( sv, Totalförsvarets forskningsinstitut, FOI; literal translation: ''Total Defence Research Institute'') is a government agency in Sweden for defence research. FOI has its headquarters in Kista ( Stockholm). ...

, and patented in 1997. The moniker FOX-12 stems from the Swedish-language acronym for the Agency, FOI, plus ''x'' for "explosive."

Applications

GUDN is particularly valued for its extreme stability and insensitivity. GUDN found its first major application when mixed with oxidizers such as

potassium nitrate Potassium nitrate is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . This alkali metal nitrate salt is also known as Indian saltpetre (large deposits of which were historically mined in India). It is an ionic salt of potassium ions K+ and ni ...

copper nitrate Copper(II) nitrate describes any member of the family of inorganic compounds with the formula Cu( NO3)2(H2O)x. The hydrates are blue solids. Anhydrous copper nitrate forms blue-green crystals and sublimes in a vacuum at 150-200 °C. Common hy ...

in automotive

airbag An airbag is a vehicle occupant-restraint system using a bag designed to inflate extremely quickly, then quickly deflate during a Traffic collision, collision. It consists of the airbag cushion, a flexible fabric bag, an inflation module, and a ...

inflators.

Propellant

GUDN is also used in a 60/40 mix with

RDX RDX (abbreviation of "Research Department eXplosive") or hexogen, among other names, is an organic compound with the formula (O2N2CH2)3. It is a white solid without smell or taste, widely used as an explosive. Chemically, it is classified as a ...

as a propellant in the UNIFLEX 2 IM modular artillery charge system fielded in the BAE

155mm 155 mm (6.1 in) is a common, NATO-standard, artillery caliber. It is defined in AOP-29 part 1 with reference to STANAG 4425. It is commonly used in field guns, howitzers, and gun-howitzers. Land warfare The caliber originated in France aft ...

/L52

Archer Archery is the sport, practice, or skill of using a bow to shoot arrows.Paterson ''Encyclopaedia of Archery'' p. 17 The word comes from the Latin ''arcus'', meaning bow. Historically, archery has been used for hunting and combat. In mo ...

howitzer.

Explosive

Blended in equal parts with

TNT Trinitrotoluene (), more commonly known as TNT, more specifically 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene, and by its preferred IUPAC name 2-methyl-1,3,5-trinitrobenzene, is a chemical compound with the formula C6H2(NO2)3CH3. TNT is occasionally used as a reage ...

, GUDN forms the a melt-castable explosive known as GUNTOL. A variation adding 15%

Aluminum Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. It h ...

is known as GUNTONAL.

Explosive character

Upon

detonation Detonation () is a type of combustion involving a supersonic exothermic front accelerating through a medium that eventually drives a shock front propagating directly in front of it. Detonations propagate supersonically through shock waves with ...

, GUDN undergoes a thermal decomposition which is not entirely understood as of 2021. The calculated

detonation velocity Explosive velocity, also known as detonation velocity or velocity of detonation (VoD), is the velocity at which the shock wave front travels through a detonated explosive. Explosive velocities are always faster than the local speed of sound in the ...

is 8235 m/s, with a detonation pressure of 25.89

GPa Grading in education is the process of applying standardized measurements for varying levels of achievements in a course. Grades can be assigned as letters (usually A through F), as a range (for example, 1 to 6), as a percentage, or as a numbe ...

, and a detonation temperature of 2887 K.

Synthesis

GUDN is synthesized by a reaction of

ammonium dinitramide Ammonium dinitramide (ADN) is the ammonium salt of dinitraminic acid. ADN decomposes under heat to leave only nitrogen, oxygen, and water. The ions are the ammonium ion NH4+ and the dinitramide N(NO2)2−. It makes an excellent solid rocket oxid ...

and the

sulfate The sulfate or sulphate ion is a polyatomic ion, polyatomic anion with the empirical formula . Salts, acid derivatives, and peroxides of sulfate are widely used in industry. Sulfates occur widely in everyday life. Sulfates are salt (chemistry), ...

salt of .

References

{{Reflist Ureas Nitroamines Explosive chemicals Guanidinium compounds Swedish inventions