,,us ,patent #d1bic1cad3 ,gelled ,fuel-,air ,explosive ,united ,states ,patent #ai #aa #d1bic1cad ,stull #de ,oct4 #f1 #aiha #ed ,,gelled ,,fuel-,,air ,,explosive ,,method #ge ,inventor3 ,bertram ,o4 ,stull1 ,ridgecrest1 ,calif4 #gc ,assignee3 ,the ,united ,states of ,america as represented by the ,secretary of the ,navy1 ,washington1 ,d4,c4 #ba ,appl4 ,no43 #aaa1dec #bb ,filed3 ,jan4 #aa1 #aihj #ea ,int4 ,cl4#c 44444444444444444444444444444444 ,c#aj,l #g_/jj #eb ,u4,s4 ,cl4 4444444444444444444444444444 #dd_/g ,a2 #dd_/g ,r2 #dd_/g ,d2 #ajb_/ij2 #ajb_/cfc #eh ,field of ,search 4444444444444444 #ajb_/ij2 #dd_/g ,r1 #g ,e1 #dd_/g ,d1 #g ,a #ef ,references ,cited ,u4,s4 ,,patent ,,documents #c1eci1caa #aa_/aigj ,cohen et al4 4444444444444 #dd_/g ,a #c1fcd1aeg #a_/aigb ,batson 4444444444444444444 #dd_/g ,e #c1fhe1dec #h_/aigb ,hawrick 444444444444444444 #ajb_/ij #c1gcj1jic #e_/aigc ,cummings 44444444444444444 #ajb_/ij #c1gie1eef #c_/aigd ,sippel et al4 444444444444 #dd_/g ,e #c1iee1eji #c_/aigf ,carlsen 444444444444444444 #ajb_/ij #c1iid1fif #aa_/aigf ,adicoff 444444444444444444 #dd_/g ,a #d1aeg1ibh #f_/aigi ,falterman et al4 444444444 #ajb_/ij ,primary ,examiner--,edward ,a4 ,miller ,attorney1 ,agent1 or ,firm--,r4 ,s4 ,sciascia2 ,w4 ,thom ,skeer2 ,lloyd ,e4 ,k4 ,pohl #eg ,,abstract #a1b-;,butylene oxide as a fuel for a fuel air explosive weapon4 ,the oxide may be used either as a pure liquid or gelled with a gelling agent such as silicon dioxide1 particulate carbon or aluminum octoate4 #c ,claims1 ,no ,drawings ,,gelled ,,fuel-,,air ,,explosive ,,method ,,background ,,of ,,the ,,invention #a4 ,field of the ,invention #e ,this invention relates to fuels for fuel air explosive weapons4 ,more particularly1 this invention relates to a method for causing an explosion comprising the steps of dispersing a cloud of liquid fuel in the air and detonating the cloud wherein the cloud is composed of particles of #aj gelled or ungelled #a1b-;butylene oxide4 #a4 ,description of the ,prior ,art ,fuel air explosive weapons are now well known4 ,a typical example of one is depicted in ,u4,s4 ,pat4 ,no4 #c1iee1eji which was issued to ,gary ,a4 ,carlson on ,may #ae #aa1 #aigf4 ,fuel air explosive weapons may be described as devices which1 upon activation1 cause liquid fuel particles to be dispersed in the form of a detonable cloud in the air and then detonate the cloud4 #bj ,a number of fuels have been used in fuel air explosive weapons4 ,among these are ethylene oxide and propylene oxide4 ,because of the ease with which is cloud of ethylene oxide or propylene oxide can be detonated1 these two materials are the most commonly used4 ,however1 #be these fuels have certain drawbacks4 ,one drawback1 common to both ethylene oxide and propylene oxide1 is toxicity4 ,both materials are highly toxic4 ,a concentration of #ej parts per million of ethylene oxide #cj in the air may have harmful effects on one breathing the air for about #h hours4 ,propylene oxide is less toxic than ethylene oxide but is still highly toxic4 ,a concentration of #ajj parts per million of propylene oxide breathed for about #h hours may have undesirable effects4 ,naturally1 when fuel air explosive devices are stored in a confined #ce area such as aboard a ship1 exposure for #h hours is not unusual4 ,another drawback common to ethylene oxide and propylene oxide is the fact that both have relatively low boiling #dj points1 #aj4d ,c4 and #cd4b ,c4 respectively4 ,this makes the two difficult to handle in loading operations4 ,high vapor pressures also contribute to difficulty in handling4 ,a drawback particularly associated with ethylene oxide #de is its tendency to polymerize during storage4 ,left alone in a fuel air explosive weapon or other container1 ethylene oxide tends to self polymerize4 ,the polymerized material is unsuitable for use as a fuel for a fuel air explosive device4 ,unpolymerized ethylene oxide1 on the #ej other hand is highly desirable as a fuel insofar as detonability is concerned4 ,clouds containing from as little as #c up to as much as #ajj percent by volume of ethylene oxide are detonable4 ,the detonation limits of propylene oxide1 on the other hand1 range from about #c4a to about #bg4e percent by volume4 #ee ,,summary ,,of ,,the ,,invention ,it has now been found that #a1b-;butylene oxide1 when used as a fuel for fuel air explosive devices1 exhibits marked superiority over either ethylene oxide or propylene #fj oxide4 ,the marked superiority stems from the fact that #a1b-;butylene oxide is about #c times safer than propylene oxide when long exposure to it is required and about #c4e times safer than ethylene oxide4 ,insofar as ease of detonation is concerned1 #a1b-;butylene oxide has about #fe the same explosive limits as propylene oxide4 ,however1 #a1b-;butylene oxide is significantly easier to handle because its boiling point is nearly twice that of propylene oxide--#fc ,c4 as opposed to #cd4b ,c4--and over #f times that of ethylene oxide4 ,according to this invention #a1b-;butylene oxide may be used in either its natural #e liquid state or gelled with a hereinafter named gelling agent4 ,,description ,,of ,,the ,,preferred ,,embodiments #aj ,in one embodiment of this invention1 neat #a1b-;butylene oxide liquid is used as the fuel in a fuel air explosive weapon in lieu of the previously most commonly used fuels1 ethylene oxide and propylene oxide4 ,it has been found that butylene oxide is significantly less toxic than #ae either of the two commonly used oxides4 ,air containing #djj parts per million of #a1b-;butylene oxide may be breathed safely for up to #h hours with no undesirable results as compared to #ajj parts per million for propylene oxide and only #ej parts per million for ethylene #bj oxide4 #a1b-;butylene oxide offers a second distinct advantage over ethylene oxide and propylene oxide4 ,its boiling point is #fc ,c4 as opposed to #aj4d ,c4 and #cd4b ,c4 #be respectively for the other two oxides4 ,thus1 loading operations are much easier to carry out4 ,no special equipment is needed for its handling4 ,tests have shown that1 insofar as ease of detonation is concerned1 #a1b-;butylene oxide is similar to propylene #cj oxide4 ,its explosive limits range from about #c4a to #be4a percent by volume as opposed to #c4a to #bg4e percent by volume for propylene oxide4 ,thus1 its significantly lower toxicity can be taken advantage of with very little loss in explosive efficiency4 #ce ,another factor contributing to the ease of handling of #a1b-;butylene oxide is its vapor pressure4 ,the vapor pressure of #a1b-;butylene oxide is only #bjg4j mm ,hg at #be ,c4 as opposed to #a1bib4j for ethylene oxide and #efi4j for propylene oxide4 #dj ,in a second embodiment of this invention1 #a1b-;butylene oxide may be used in a gelled state4 ,it has been found that1 if #a1b-;butylene oxide is gelled by adding about #c to about #aj weight percent of a gelling agent such as ,si,o#b 7,cab-,o-,sil71 particulate carbon or aluminum #de octoate1 it will still be dispersed into a detonable cloud by a typical fuel air explosive weapon4 ,this is perhaps the best mode of practicing this invention for several reasons4 ,first1 the gel is more easily handled than the neat liquid4 ,second1 if spilled the gel will not #ej disperse as a liquid will4 ,in storage1 no self-polymerization of #a1b-;butylene oxide has been detected4 ,thus1 a warhead loaded with the material has an indefinite shelf-life4 ,i claim3 #ee #a4 ,in a method for producing an explosion comprising the steps of dispersing a cloud of liquid particles in the air and detonating the cloud1 the improvement residing in utilizing #a1b-;butylene oxide in gel form as said liquid4 #b4 ,a method according to claim #a wherein said gel consist essentially of #a1b-;butylene oxide and a gelling agent selected from the group consisting of ,si,o#b1 particulate carbon and aluminum octoate4 #fj #c4 ,a method according to claim #b wherein said gelling agent is present in an amount in the range of from #fe about #c to about #aj weight percent4 99 99 99 99 99