Predicting Impact Sensitivities of Nitro Compounds on the Basis of a Semi-empirical Rate Constant

A physically motivated model is put forward to estimate impact sensitivity of nitro compounds on the basis of the relationship <i>h</i>₅₀ ∝ <i>k</i>_pr^–4 between drop weight impact test data <i>h</i>₅₀ and rate constant <i>k</i>_pr for the propagation of the decomposition. An approximate expression involving two adjustable parameters is introduced to estimate <i>k</i>_pr from molecular structure. As a result, using only a hand-held calculator, ln­(<i>h</i>₅₀) values are estimated with a good reliability (<i>R</i>² ≃ 0.8) compared to previous schemes. These results support the underlying assumption that sensitivity primarily depends on the ability of reacting species to propagate the decomposition before the released energy dissipates away