Does ANFO need a detonator?

Performance of ANFO ANFO is a very insensitive explosive, which makes it extremely safe to use. However, it is not detonator sensitive and therefore requires the use of a booster to provide reliable detonation.

What is ANFO in blasting?

ANFO (or AN/FO, for ammonium nitrate/fuel oil) is a widely used bulk industrial explosive. Its name is commonly pronounced as ANN-foe. It consists of 94% porous prilled ammonium nitrate (NH₄NO₃) (AN), which acts as the oxidizing agent and absorbent for the fuel, and 6% number 2 fuel oil (FO).

Why is ANFO explosive?

ANFO provides excellent heave energy compared with explosives that contain a high emulsion content. ANFO is a dry and free flowing product, allowing delivery by loose pour or pneumatic loading. The low bulk density of ANFO provides excellent charge distribution in the blast hole.

How fast does ANFO explode?

The detonation velocity varies from 3,000 to 4,000 m/sec for the 1 to 10 pct range of fuel oil content, suggesting that ANFO mixes with improper fuel oil content may appear to detonate properly, while their fume production differs significantly from optimum.

Does black powder detonate ANFO?

ANFO is relatively stable, whereas black powder is extremely sensitive and prone to accidental explosion. … The resulting ANFO is so insensitive to shock that it requires a high explosive such as dynamite to detonate it (as opposed to the slight friction needed to explode black powder).

Can you shoot ANFO?

So stable that it cannot explode spontaneously, ANFO is considerably safer than dynamite, which contains volatile nitroglycerin. You can light a match to ANFO, jump up and down on it, even shoot a bullet at it, but it isn’t likely to blow up.

Does ANFO smell?

A telltale sign of an ANFO bomb, for instance, are its signature residues and the lingering smell of ammonia following a blast. This helps law enforcement authorities determine the cause of the blast, but, because the odor is emitted after the blast, it does little to prevent such an attack.

How does ANFO bomb work?

This is because when ammonium nitrate burns, some oxygen is left over. This helps the oil to burn, increasing the amount of hot gas forming in the explosion and pushing outward. The commercial form of explosive uses ammonium nitrate and fuel oil, a combination known in the industry as ANFO.

How explosive is PETN?

Its basic explosion characteristics are: Explosion energy: 5810 kJ/kg (1390 kcal/kg), so 1 kg of PETN has the energy of 1.24 kg TNT. Detonation velocity: 8350 m/s (1.73 g/cm³), 7910 m/s (1.62 g/cm³), 7420 m/s (1.5 g/cm³), 8500 m/s (pressed in a steel tube)

What is ANFO made out of?

The usual ANFO formulation contains about 94% by weight ammonium nitrate and 6% diesel fuel oil. If recycled (used) lubricating oil could be safely substituted for the fuel oil, up to about 27 million gallons could be consumed. This use of recycled oil (RO) can save energy and reduce oil imports.

Why is ANFO used in mining?

ANFO is suitable for use where the blastholes are dry and will remain dry until firing. ANFO can be used as a column charge in mining or quarrying and for general blasting work. … ANFO loads easily and completely fills the blasthole, delivering maximum energy.

What did Alfred Nobel think that dynamite would be used for?

Nobel invented a detonator in 1863, and in 1865 designed the blasting cap. … Nobel invented dynamite in 1867, a substance easier and safer to handle than the more unstable nitroglycerin. Dynamite was patented in the US and the UK and was used extensively in mining and the building of transport networks internationally.

Can dynamite explode without a blasting cap?

Crystals will form on the outside of the sticks, causing them to be even more sensitive to shock, friction, and temperature. Therefore, while the risk of an explosion without the use of a blasting cap is minimal for fresh dynamite, old dynamite is dangerous.

What is the difference between dynamite and gelignite?

As nouns the difference between dynamite and gelignite is that dynamite is a class of explosives made from nitroglycerine in an absorbent medium such as kieselguhr, used in mining and blasting; invented by in 1867 while gelignite is an explosive mixture of nitroglycerine and nitrate absorbed onto a base of wood pulp.

Is black powder a high explosive?

The black powder used in fireworks is one example of a low explosive. … Fireworks hold black powder inside a cardboard or paper tube so that once the powder has burned, the gases burst the container noisily.

How strong is ANFO?

When filled with ANFO, a blasthole 400 mm (about 16 inches) in diameter and 7.5 metres (about 25 feet) deep can develop about one billion horsepower.

Is ANFO cap sensitive?

All ANFO samples were tested and found not to be cap sensitive. The United States mining industry consumed about 5.4 billion pounds of ammonium nitrate-based industrial explosives in 1997.

Which explosive corrodes most metal?

Which explosive corrodes most metal? Explanation: HMTD ( hexamethylene-triperoxide diamine) is an improvised explosives which corrodes most of metal because of the property of extremely sensitive heat, shock and friction also.

Is ANFO water resistant?

ANFO is not waterproof or even resistant. ANFO can deflagrate if a significant amount of water has damaged the ANFO. ANFO can fail to detonate if water has damaged enough ANFO in the hole. If the ANFO shoots “low order”, it shoots inefficiently and produces excess gases.

What fumes are generated when ANFO is detonated?

Previous research and theory show that the detonating ANFO will produce excessive levels of nitrogen oxides if the fuel oil content is too low and will produce excessive levels of carbon monoxide and ammonia if the fuel oil content is too high.

Is ANFO a mixture?

Ammonium nitrate fuel oil (ANFO) is one of the most favorite explosives used in terrorist attacks. This explosive is a complex mixture of 95-96% ammonium nitrate (AN) and 4-5% liquid hydrocarbons (fuel oil).

Can I buy ammonium nitrate?

But in the US, you can buy ammonium nitrate on Amazon, at gardening stores, or from agricultural suppliers. The US Department of Homeland Security is required to regulate the sale and transfer of ammonium nitrate by an ammonium nitrate facility to prevent people from using it for terrorism.

What is considered a high explosive?

High explosives are materials that are characterized by a very high rate of reaction, high pressure development, and the presence of a detonation wave. The guideline applies to the following explosives: blasting explosives in bulk or in packaged form, e.g.; ANFO (ammonium nitrate / fuel oil);

Can farmers still buy dynamite?

Although dynamite is still manufactured in this country, anyone buying, selling, transporting or using the stuff today, mostly construction and demolition contractors, must have a license from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. Back in the early 1900s, several companies, including E.I.

Can you make PETN?

The material is not especially difficult for anyone familiar with chemical synthesis to make. PETN and materials that incorporate it are readily available for about $20 a pound to anyone with a blasting license — quarry workers and builders, for instance, who are not convicted felons.

Is PETN a secondary explosive?

PETN is a second- ary explosive and as such is not as sensitive as primary explosives such as lead azide. Cast primers of PETN are also supplied as shaped charges. RDX – RDX (cyclotrimethylenetrinitramine) is second in strength to nitroglycerin among common explosives substances.

Who invented nitrocellulose?

The first practical smokeless powder made from nitrocellulose, for firearms and artillery ammunition, was invented by French chemist Paul Vieille in 1884. Jules Verne viewed the development of guncotton with optimism. He referred to the substance several times in his novels.