Octol
Encyclopedia
Explosive material
An explosive material, also called an explosive, 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...
mixture consisting of HMX
HMX
HMX, also called octogen, is a powerful and relatively insensitive nitroamine high explosive, chemically related to RDX. Like RDX, the name has been variously listed as High Melting eXplosive, Her Majesty's eXplosive, High-velocity Military eXplosive, or High-Molecular-weight rdX.The molecular...
and TNT 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 than TNT (over 2,000 metres per second faster) and forms the main part of this explosive blend, the brisance
Brisance
Brisance is the shattering capability of an explosive. It is a measure of the rapidity with which an explosive develops its maximum pressure. The term originates from the French verb "briser", which means to break or shatter...
characteristics of Octol can be inferred.
Applications
The applications of Octol are generally military; e.g., shaped chargesShaped charge
A shaped charge is an explosive charge shaped to focus the effect of the explosive's energy. Various types are used to cut and form metal, to initiate nuclear weapons, to penetrate armor, and in the oil and gas industry...
and warheads used in guided missiles
Guided Missile
Guided Missile is a London based independent record label set up by Paul Kearney in 1994.Guided Missile has always focused on 'the underground', preferring to put out a steady flow of releases and developing the numerous GM events around London and beyond....
and submunitions. Octol is somewhat more expensive than RDX
RDX
RDX, an initialism for Research Department Explosive, is an explosive nitroamine widely used in military and industrial applications. It was developed as an explosive which was more powerful than TNT, and it saw wide use in WWII. RDX is also known as cyclonite, hexogen , and T4...
-based explosives, such as Composition B
Composition B
Composition B, colloquially "comp B", is an explosive consisting of castable mixtures of RDX and TNT. It is used as the main explosive filling in artillery projectiles, rockets, land mines, hand grenades, sticky bombs and various other munitions...
and Cyclotol
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....
. 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. Dyno NobelDyno Nobel
Dyno Nobel is a major manufacturer of explosives. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Incitec Pivot Limited, and its customers include users in the mining, quarry, construction, pipeline and geophysical exploration industries...
markets the mixture as LX-14.