Demystifying Explosives

S. Venugopalan did his post-graduation in chemistry from St. Joseph’s College, Tiruchirapalli, India in 1971. After working as a lecturer in chemistry in various colleges for 5 years, he served as a Quality Assurance officer attached to an ordnance factory manufacturing varieties of high explosives and propellants for small arms, guns and rockets for about 7 years. In 1983, he joined High Energy Materials Laboratory (HEMRL), Pune as a scientist and worked in the area of composite rocket propellants and synthesis of energetic oxidizers and polymeric binders. He was also heading the Safety Engineering Division of HEMRL for about 6 years. He has over 32 years of experience with exposure to different types of High Energy Materials (HEMs) in the diverse areas of production, quality assurance and Research and development.

1. In pursuit of energy and energetic materials2. Energetics of Energetic Materials 3. Two faces of explosion: Deflagration and Detonation4. HEMs – The facets of explosive performance5. The propulsive facet of HEMs – I (Gun Propellants)6. The propulsive facet of HEMs – II (Rocket Propellants)7. HEMs in pyrotechnics8. HEMs: Concerns of safety9. HEMs: Concerns of Security10. HEMs: Characterization and Evaluation11. HEMs: Trends and Challenges12. HEMs: Constructive applications