Table of explosive detonation velocities

This is a compilation of published detonation velocities for various high explosive compounds. Detonation velocity is the speed with which the detonation shock wave travels through the explosive. It is a key, directly measurable indicator of explosive performance, but depends on density which must always be specified, and may be too low if the test charge diameter is not large enough. Especially for little studied explosives there may be divergent published values due to charge diameter issues. In liquid explosives, like nitroglycerin, there may be two detonation velocities, one much higher than the other. The detonation velocity values presented here are typically for the highest practical density which maximizes achievable detonation velocity.[1]

The velocity of detonation is an important indicator for overall energy and power of detonation, and in particular for the brisance or shattering effect of an explosive which is due to the detonation pressure. The pressure can be calculated using Chapman-Jouguet theory from the velocity and density.

Table of Explosive Detonation Velocities
Explosive class Explosive name Abbreviation Detonation
velocity (m/s) 		Test Density
(g/cm3)
Aromatic 1,3,5-trinitrobenzene TNB 7,450 1.60
Aromatic 1,3,5-Triazido-2,4,6-trinitrobenzene TATNB 7,300 1.71
Aromatic 4,4’-Dinitro-3,3’-diazenofuroxan DDF 10,000 2.02
Aromatic Trinitrotoluene TNT 6,900 1.60
Aromatic Diazodinitrophenol DDNP 7,100 1.63
Aromatic Trinitroaniline TNA 7,300 1.72
Aromatic Tetryl 7,570 1.71
Aromatic Picric acid TNP 7,350 1.70
Aromatic Ammonium picrate (Dunnite) 7,150 1.60
Aromatic Methyl picrate 6,800 1.57
Aromatic Ethyl picrate 6,500 1.55
Aromatic Picryl chloride 7,200 1.74
Aromatic Trinitrocresol 6,850 1.62
Aliphatic Nitrourea NU 6,860 1.73
Aromatic Lead styphnate 5,200 2.90
Aromatic Triaminotrinitrobenzene TATB 7,350 1.80
Aliphatic 1,1-diamino-2,2-dinitroethene DADNE, FOX-7 8,335 1.76
Aliphatic 1,3,3-Trinitroazetidine TNAZ 9,597 1.84
Inorganic Ammonium perchlorate AP[2] 6,300 1.95
Aliphatic Methyl nitrate MN[3] 6,818 1.22
Aliphatic Nitroglycol/ethylene glycol dinitrate EGDN 7,500 1.49
Aliphatic Nitroglycerine NG 7,700 1.59
Aliphatic isopropyl nitrate IPN 5,400 0.86
Aliphatic Mannitol hexanitrate MHN 8,260 1.73
Aliphatic Pentaerythritol tetranitrate PETN 8,400 1.76
Aliphatic Erythritol tetranitrate ETN 8,200 1.72
Aliphatic Xylitol pentanitrate XPN 7,100 1.852
Aliphatic Ethylenedinitramine EDNA 7,570 1.65
Aliphatic Nitroguanidine NQ 8,200 1.70
Aliphatic Cyclotrimethylenetrinitramine RDX 8,550 1.762
Aliphatic Cyclotetramethylene tetranitramine HMX 9,100 1.89
Aliphatic Hexanitrodiphenylamine HND 7,100 1.64
Aliphatic Hexanitrohexaazaisowurtzitane HNIW or CL-20[4] 9,500 2.04
Aliphatic Dinitroglycoluril DINGU 8,450 1.94
Aliphatic Tetranitroglycoluril TNGU, Sorguyl, Sorguryl 9,150 1.95
Aliphatic Hexanitrohexaazatricyclododecanedione HHTDD, DTNGU, Naza/Namsorguyl/uryl HnHaza/amTcDglcDuryl 9,700 2.16
Aliphatic 5-Nitro-2,4-dihydro-3H-1,2,4-triazole-3-one[5] NTO 8,564 1.93
Aliphatic Octanitrocubane ONC 10,100 2.00
Aliphatic Nitrocellulose NC 7,050 1.20
Aliphatic Urea nitrate UN 4,700 1.67
Aliphatic Triacetone triperoxide AP or TATP 5,300 1.18
Aliphatic Methyl ethyl ketone peroxide MEKP 5,200 1.17
Aliphatic Hexamethylene triperoxide diamine HMTD 4,500 0.88
Inorganic Mercury fulminate 4,250 3.00
Inorganic Potassium perchlorate aluminium mixture KClO4[6] 4,600 1.5
Inorganic Lead azide 4,630 3.00
Inorganic Nickel hydrazine nitrate NHN 8,150 1.70
Inorganic Silver azide 4,000 4.00
Aliphatic Ammonium nitrate/fuel oil AN/FO 4,940 1.30
Inorganic Ammonium nitrate/hexamin AMT 5,000 2.00
Inorganic Ammonium nitrate/sugar Ansu 3,400 1.75
Aliphatic Nitromethane NM 6,400 1.1371
Inorganic Armstrong's mixture AM 4,500 1.50
Aliphatic Methylene dinitroamine[7][8] MEDINA 8,700 1.65
Explosive class Explosive name Abbreviation Detonation
velocity (m/s) 		Test Density
(g/cm3)
  1. ^ Cooper, Paul W. (1996). Explosives Engineering, New York: Wiley-VCH. ISBN 0-471-18636-8
  2. ^ Shevchenko, A. A.; Dolgoborodov, A Yu; Brazhnikov, M. A.; Kirilenko, V. G. (2018). "Pseudoideal detonation of mechanoactivated mixtures of ammonium perchlorate with nanoaluminum". Journal of Physics: Conference Series. 946 (1): 012055. Bibcode:2018JPhCS.946a2055S. doi:10.1088/1742-6596/946/1/012055.
  3. ^ Kozak, G.D. (1998). "Measurement and calculation of the ideal detonation velocity for liquid nitrocompounds". Combust Explos Shock Waves. 34 (5): 584. doi:10.1007/BF02672682. S2CID 98738029.
  4. ^ Bolton, O.; Simke, L. R.; Pagoria, P. F.; Matzger, A. J. (2012). "High Power Explosive with Good Sensitivity: A 2:1 Cocrystal of CL-20:HMX". Crystal Growth & Design. 12 (9): 4311. doi:10.1021/cg3010882.
  5. ^ Viswanath DS, Ghosh TK, Boddu VM. (2018) 5-Nitro-2,4-Dihydro-3H-1,2,4-Triazole-3-One (NTO). Chapter 5 in Emerging Energetic Materials: Synthesis, Physicochemical, and Detonation Properties. Springer. doi:10.1007/978-94-024-1201-7_5
  6. ^ "Data" (PDF). www.dtic.mil. Retrieved 2019-12-15.[dead link‍]
  7. ^ PubChem. "Medina". pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. Retrieved 2024-05-20.
  8. ^ "methylenedinitramine | CH4N4O4 | ChemSpider". www.chemspider.com. Retrieved 2024-05-20.