Contact surface area of RS-41

The pyrotechnic composition RS-41, a mixture of 49wt% KCLO4, 49wt% Al/Mg and 2wt% Calcium Resinat, is an important ingredient in the Multipurpose (MP) ammunition. RS-41 is placed in front of the projectile and ignites due to the impulse transfer on impact. A pyrotechnical combustion starts and spreads backward in the projectile and towards the explosive. This gives a delay, which is important for the fragmentation effect of the warhead. In this report we have analysed the contact surface area of the particles in RS-41 as a function of the density by looking at the luminosity of the bulk surface of compressed pellets. We found that the contact area increased with the density in an s-shaped manner.