Low energy fuse and method of manufacture

A low energy shock wave conductor in the form of a cold drawn extruded single wall, dimensionally stable plastic tube having an inner surface coated with particulate reactive energetic material formed according to the method which comprises

• (a) extruding a polymeric melt through a wide annular die in the form of a thick walled tube while distributing particulate reactive energetic material in a core load per unit of length on the inner surface of the thick walled tube, the polymeric melt comprising a substantially homogenous blend of a major amount of a draw orientable melt-extrudable polymer resin and a minor amount of a miscible or compatible material as an adhesion promoting agent which is distributed in the extruded melt such that it has a greater concentration at the inner surface of the tube than in the body of the extruded melt and imparts an enhanced reactive energetic material-retaining capability to the inner surface of the extruded tube, and
• (b) cold drawing the thick walled tube to elongate and form a localized drawing point to increase tube tensile strength, reduce wall thickness, and to reduce core load per unit length of the reactive energetic material.

A low energy shock wave conductor comprising a cold drawn, dimensionally stable tube made of extrudable plastics material, and containing a core loading of a particulate reactive energetic material, wherein the said tube has an extruded single-wall, and throughout its length an inner surface circumscribing a void through which a shock wave may be transmitted, the said surface retaining said particulate reactive energetic material as a layer thereon, and the said plastics material comprises a substantially homogeneous blend of a major amount of a draw orientable polymer resin lacking adequate reactive material-retaining properties, and a minor amount of a modifier which is a miscible or compatible material which imparts an enhanced reactive material-retaining capability to said polymer resin.

A low energy shock wave conductor comprising an extruded single-wall, dimensionally stable plastic tube having an inner surface coated with a particulate reactive energetic material, the plastic of the tube comprising a homogeneous extrudable blend of a major amount of a draw orientable polymer resin lacking adequate reactive material-retaining properties, and a minor amount of a modifier which is a miscible or compatible material which imparts an enhanced reactive material-retaining capability to the inner surface of said extruded plastic tube wherein the polymer resin is a continuous matrix and the modifier is present as fibrils a few microns in length with aspect ratios of from about 6 to about 10 aligned with the tube axis and distributed in the matrix polymer such that it has a greater concentration at the inner surface of the tube than in the body of the matrix.