Octol is a melt- castable,

high explosive An explosive (or explosive material) is a reactive substance that contains a great amount of potential energy that can produce an explosion if released suddenly, usually accompanied by the production of light, heat, sound, and pressure. An exp ...

mixture consisting of HMX and

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 ...

in different weight proportions.

Composition

Two formulations are commonly used: * 70% HMX & 30% TNT * 75% HMX & 25% TNT Given that HMX has a much higher

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 higher than the local speed of sound in t ...

than TNT (over 2,000 metres per second faster) and forms the main part of this explosive blend, the

brisance Brisance (; ) is the shattering capability of a high explosive, determined mainly by its detonation pressure. Application Brisance is of practical importance in explosives engineering for determining the effectiveness of an explosion in blasti ...

characteristics of Octol can be inferred.

Applications

The applications of Octol are generally military; e.g.,

shaped charge A shaped charge, commonly also hollow charge if shaped with a cavity, is an explosive charge shaped to focus the effect of the explosive's energy. Different types of shaped charges are used for various purposes such as cutting and forming metal, ...

s and warheads that are used in

guided missile A missile is an airborne ranged weapon capable of Propulsion, self-propelled flight aided usually by a propellant, jet engine or rocket motor. Historically, 'missile' referred to any projectile that is thrown, shot or propelled towards a targ ...

s and

submunitions A cluster munition is a form of air-dropped or ground-launched explosive weapon that releases or ejects smaller submunitions. Commonly, this is a cluster bomb that ejects explosive bomblets that are designed to kill personnel and destroy veh ...

. Octol is somewhat more expensive than

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 ...

-based explosives, such as

Composition B Composition B (Comp B), also known as Hexotol and Hexolite (among others), is a high explosive consisting of castable mixtures of RDX and TNT. It is used as the main explosive filling in artillery projectiles, rockets, land mines, hand grenade ...

and

Cyclotol Cyclotol is an explosive consisting of castable mixtures of RDX and TNT. It is related to the more common Composition B, which is roughly 60% RDX and 40% TNT; various compositions of Cyclotol contain from 65% to 80% RDX. Typical ranges are fr ...

. The advantage of Octol is that it significantly reduces the size and weight of the explosive charge required. These are important considerations where smart weapons such as guided missiles are concerned. A light (but effective) warhead means a superior power to weight ratio. This in turn results in a higher velocity missile with a longer range and shorter flight time. As a result, the target has less opportunity to recognise and evade the attack.

Alternative names

Octol is also referred to as Oktol, particularly in Eastern Europe.

Nominal Properties

Reported properties: * Density: 1.80 g/cm³ * Detonation Velocity: 8.55 mm/μsec

References

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External links