Propellants, High Explosives and Pyrotechnics

The world of powders and energetic materials has its origins in the early Middle Ages. It has always fascinated, from the wonder of fireworks to the fear of the destructive power of these materials, as illustrated by recent world conflicts and large-scale accidents.

These ancient ties do not prevent this field from being vast and dynamic, and from being present in many elements of our society, even in our cars to ensure our protection in the event of an accident thanks to airbags.

The aim of this article is to present as exhaustive a panorama as possible of the different facets of materials used in pyrotechnics, explaining their raison d'être, the reasons for their composition, their manufacturing processes, their use and the quantities of interest for a given category of material.

The various product families are reviewed: propellant powders, propellants, primary and secondary explosives, civil and military, pyrotechnic compositions offering a wide range of effects. The use of these products to produce initiators and pyromechanisms is then presented.

The physical phenomena involved in the operation of all these compositions are explained in detail.

Finally, the outlook for the sector in terms of performance, sensitivity and respect for the environment brings this overview to a close.

Throughout this document, the proportions of the compositions will be given by mass in the form xx:yy for xx% of the first component and yy% of the second.