US1473825A - Explosive for use in blasting caps - Google Patents

Description

Patented Nov. 13, 1923.

' rec.

JQHN MARSHLL. OF SWARTHMORE. PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO I. DU FONT DE NEMOURS 8: COMPANY, OF WILMINGTON. DELAWARE, A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE.

EXPLOSIVE FOR USE IN BLASTING CAPS.

No Drawin g.

To all whom it may concern..-

.Be it known that I. Join Blxusinua a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Swarthrnore, in thescounty of Delaware and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a certain new. and useful Explosive for l'se in Blasting Caps, of which the following: is a s ecification.

his invention relates to explosive mate rials and particularly to the charge to be inserted in blasting caps for the PUPPOFG of ex loding main charges of high explosives.

lasting caps in the past have been made with a primer charge of mercury fulminate or of lead azide. and with a secondary charge of T.N.T., or tetranitromethyl-aniline (tetryl), tetranitroaniline.(T.N.A.),or similar substances. and have also been made with mixtures of the priming materials and the secondary charge. In general, the materials used as the secondary charge have been expensive to manufacture, being dependent on relatively expensive. raw materials.

The object of my invention is to provide an ex losive substance, suited for use as a seconc ary charge in blasting caps and for use in primers of, other types, which can be pre pared from raw materials of a relatively inexpensive nature. a

I have discovered that an explosive sub stance which isadmirably suited for use in blasting caps may be produced by elfecting a reaction between such relatively inexpensive raw materials as oxides of. nitrogen and olefines such as ethylene, propylene, etc.

The process of making the new explosive ingredients may be illustrated by the Following example I Nitrogen sesquioxide (N 0,) and ethylene are led simultaneously into an inert solvent, for example, diethyl ether, maintained preferabl at a temperature between 5 and 20 C. no of the products of the reaction between the ethylene and the nitrogen seequioxide precipitates from the ethereal solu tion in the form of a crystalline solid, which is filtered oil and dried; this crystalline solid melts at ill-117 C. and contains from 26 per cent to 26.9 per cent of nitrogen.

In place of ethylene in the above example, other unsaturated hydrocarbons of the ethylene series,.such as propylene, may be used; and instead of nitrogen sesquioxide alone a mixture of nitrogen sesquioxide with other nitrogen oxides may be used.

Application filed October 5, 1921.

Serial No. 505,599.

I have. reason to believe that the corn pounds ol which the specifically described productof the above example is typical are the bi-molecular pseiulo-nitrosites; that is, they contain in the molecular complex, two

molecules of the nitro .B-nitroso paraffinhydrocarbou. linked together through the nitroso groups. llowever. I wish it to be clearly understood that I do not confine myself to the structural formula thus described, but wish to cover as a part of my invention the solid product resulting from the interaction of nitrogen sesquioxide and an oleline hydrocarbon in a suitable solvent. For the sake of brevity. I use the term pseudouitrositc," in describing my invention throughout this application, to mean compounds composed of two molecules of the nitro beta nitroso paratline hydrocarbon linked together thru the nitroso groups.

A blasting cap made in accordance with my invention may contain any bi-molecular psciulo-nitrositc as above described; for we ample, from ethylene is obtained a compound (a pseudo-nitrosite) of the following probable structure:

inccn,uo,

u o rial Hzd-CII=NO= and from a propylene, the following:

I I (-HC-CH2NO The general structural formula for this class of substances may probably be written as follows:

n-uc-cumog El n iu crnuor where R represents a hydrogen or alkyl radical.

The bi-uiolecular ethylene pseudo'nitrosite. for example, furnishes, when associated with a suitable primer, :1 very powerful cap charge or composition. Thus 0.4 to 1.0 gram of the ethylene pseudo-nitrosite, the amount depending on the grade of blasting cap desired, may be pressed into the copper shell of the blasting cap in the usual manner, and on top of this is pressed a priming charge consisting of about 0.5 ram fulminate of mercury. lnst ad of p acing the ethylene pseudomitrosite and the fulminate of mercury in separate layers, they may be mixed together, equal proportions by weight, for example. of each of the two materials being used. There is produced in this way a very powerful blasting cap, which when ignited by safety fuse or by electrical means or otherwise provides an exceedingly efficient means for detonating dynamite or other high explosive.

While I have described my invention above in detail. l wish it to be understood that many changes may be made without de arting from the spirit of the invention.

claim:

1. An explosive charge comprising the normally solid product obtainable by iteraction between an olefine hydrocarbon and nitrogen sesquioxide and having probably the following general formula:-

R-Ho-cnmm n-nd-cn o,

where R represents a hydrogen or alkyl radical.

' lowing general formula 3. 'An explosive charge comprising the normally solid product obtainable by interaction between an olefine and nitrogen sesquioxide and having probably the following general formula z' n-nl' cn-,t\'o, where R represents a hydrogen radical or an alkyl radical having from 1 to 4 carbon atoms.

4. A detonator composition comprising a primary detonating compound and a bimolecular alkylene pseudo-nitrositc.

A detonator composition comprising a primary detonating compound and a bimolecular ethylene psedo-nitrosite.

6. A blasting cap charge comprising mercury fulminate and a bi-molecular alkylene pseudonitrosite obtainable by interaction between an olefine hydrocarbon and nitrogen sesquioxide.

7. A blasting cap charge comprising mercury fulmmate and a bi-molecular ethylene pseudo-nitrosite obtainable by interaction between ethylene and nitrogen sesquioxide.

8. A blasting cap charge comprising 1 part of mercury fulminate and from about 0.8 to 2 parts of the normally solid product obtainable by interaction of ethylene and nitrogen sesquioxide in the presence of liquid gliethyl ether, said normally solid product melting at 114417 C. and containing 26.9% of nitrogen.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

JOHN MARSHALL.