Effect of microwave irradiation on TATB explosive (II): Temperature response and other risk

TATB (1,3,5-triamino-2,4,6-trinitrobenzene) explosives were safely irradiated with microwave and showed no visible change according to XPS and XRD spectra. Temperature of TATB sample increased quickly at the beginning and gently during sequent continuous irradiation with temperature less than 140 °C after 60 min, 480 W irradiation, and increased more quickly in 300 g at 480 W than in 150 g at 480 W, both implied that heat dissipation was in the majority of microwave energy. Two major risk factors in microwave irradiation were concerned including overheating which should be avoidable with temperature monitor and microwave discharge which should be controllable experimentally though dielectric breakdown mechanism was not elucidated theoretically yet.