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3-nitro-1,2,4-triazol-5-one (NTO) is the main component of insensitive munitions (IM) formulation because of its outstanding insensitive properties. In this paper, a series of NTO/HMX-based composite explosives were prepared and characterized. The study focuses on the effect of NTO on the performance of the formulations, especially the safety performance. The results revealed that the mechanical sensitivity of formulations was associated with NTO content, as well as the thermal conductivity, specific heat capacity and Arrhenius parameters. Then, the high amount of NTO using in formulation was proved to be helpful for NTO/HMX-based formulation to exhibit good thermal safety. Besides, by accelerating rate calorimeter (ARC) and a modified cook-off equipment, the pressure and pressure rise rate were proved as the important indicator for judging the thermal safety performance in confined spaces. Finally, the numerical simulation was used as a credible method for predicting the respond temperature of cook-off experiment.

Military training exercises can result in deposition of energetic residues on range soils, which ultimately can contaminate groundwater with munitions constituents. Column experiments followed by HYDRUS-1D modeling were conducted to evaluate dissolution and transport of energetic constituents from the new insensitive munitions (IM) formulations IMX-101, a mixture of 3-nitro-1,2,4-triazol-5-one (NTO), nitroguanidine (NQ), and 2, 4-dinitroanisole (DNAN), and IMX-104, a mixture of NTO, 1,3,5-hexahydro-1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazine (RDX) and DNAN. NTO and DNAN are emerging contaminants associated with the development of insensitive munitions as replacements for traditional munitions. Flow interruption experiments were performed to investigate dissolution kinetics and sorption non-equilibrium between soil and solution phases. The results indicated that insensitive munitions compounds dissolved in order of their aqueous solubility, consistent with prior dissolution studies conducted in the absence of soil. Initial elution of the high concentration pulse of highly soluble NTO and NQ was followed by lower concentrations, while DNAN had generally lower and more constant concentrations in leachate. The sorption of NTO and NQ was low, while RDX, 1,3,5,7-octahydro-1,3,5,7-tetranitrotetrazocine (HMX, an impurity in technical grade RDX), and DNAN all exhibited appreciable sorption. DNAN transformation was observed, with formation of amino-reduction products 2-ANAN (2-amino-4-nitroanisole) and 4-ANAN (4-amino-2-nitroanisole). HYDRUS-1D model, incorporating one-dimensional advective-dispersive transport with particle dissolution and first-order solute transformation was used to simulate the measured breakthrough curves. Optimized dissolution parameters varied widely but were correlated between compounds in the same formulation. Determined adsorption coefficients generally agreed with values determined from batch and column studies conducted with pure NTO and DNAN, while mass-loss rate coefficients were in better agreement with ones from batch than column studies possibly due to suppression of microbial transformation during elution of high concentrations of explosives. Even in the low organic matter soils selected in this study DNAN experienced significant retardation and transformation, indicating potential for its natural attenuation.

This paper describes an offline low-temperature derivatization method combined with gas chromatography-isotope ratio mass spectrometry (GC-IRMS) to enable compound-specific isotope analysis (CSIA) of C and N in the explosive compound 3-nitro-1,2,4-triazole-5-one (NTO). NTO is being used widely as a component of insensitive munition (IM) composites such as IMX-101, a formulation that is being used to replace the more shock sensitive TNT in artillery shells. The alkylation of NTO with methyl iodide (MeI) as the derivatization reagent was performed in acetone solution at room temperature using triethylamine (Et3N) as a base catalyst. The methylated product of NTO derivatization was identified as 4-methyl-3-nitro-1,2,4-triazol-5-one (MNTO). Accurate and reproducible results were achieved by systematic optimization of MeI and Et3N concentrations and reaction time. Isotopic values of MNTO obtained by GC-IRMS were normalized against those of two 2,4-dinitroanisole (DNAN) in-house reference materials that had been calibrated with isotopic standard reference materials, USGS40 and USGS41a. The resulting method detection limit for derivatization/GC-IRMS of NTO was 788 ng of NTO, yielding a precision of ±0.3‰ for both δ13C and δ15N values in good agreement with δ13C and δ15N values for NTO determined by elemental analyzer-IRMS.