Isotopic measurements (C,N,O) of detonation soot produced from labeled and unlabeled Composition B-3 indicate source of solid carbon residues.

Detonation of HE is an exothermic process whereby metastable complex molecules are converted to simple stable molecules such as H$_{\mathrm{2}}$O, N$_{\mathrm{2}}$, CO, CO$_{\mathrm{2}}$, and solid carbon. The solid carbon contains various allotropes such as detonation nanodiamonds, graphite, and amorphous carbon. It is well known that certain HE formulations such as Composition B (60{\%} RDX, 40{\%} TNT) produce greater amounts of solid carbon than other more oxygen-balanced formulations. To develop a greater understanding of how formulation and environment influence solid carbon formation, we synthesized TNT and RDX with $^{\mathrm{13}}$C and $^{\mathrm{15}}$N at levels slightly above natural abundance levels. Synthesized RDX and TNT were mixed at a ratio of 60:40 to form Composition B and solid carbon residues were collected from detonations of isotopically-labeled as well as un-labelled Composition B. The raw HE and detonation residues were analyzed isotopically for C, N, O isotopic compositions. We will discuss differences between treatments groups as a function of formulation and environment. LA-UR -- 17-21266