Wax Substitutes for Melt Castable Explosive Fills.

The use of carnauba wax in melt/castable explosives yields a insensitive explosive formulation that enhances overall safety for the use of these munitions in the field. However, carnauba wax is only obtained from overseas sources and there is no domestic source for this material. This leads to shortages of material and higher prices. There exists a need for a wax substitute to replace the carnauba wax binder. Applied Colloids proposes the use of a proprietary gelling agent with jojoba and polyalphaolefin waxes to yield high melting point waxes whose new properties will micmic that of carnauba wax. These wax substitutes are inexpensive and are available domestically. This will yield a superior, inexpensive component for use in insensitive explosives.