A novel micromixer for efficient mixing and nano-TATB preparation

Passive micromixers are widely used in the preparation of ultrafine explosives because of their efficient mixing and necessary safety. A novel passive micromixer was designed to prepare nano-TATB. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is used to simulate the opening width (K), fluid velocity and mixing performance of the micromixer. The results show that the proposed micromixer has good mixing performance in the Reynolds number (Re) range of 0.1~100, and its pressure drop less than 28204 Pa at Re=100. A microfluidic recrystallization system was established and nano-TATB was prepared by a new micromixer. The results show that the average particle size of the prepared TATB is 93.12 nm, and the particle size distribution ranges from 43 nm to 151.4 nm. The SEM test shows that TATB has better morphological characteristics. XRD results show that the crystal structure of TATB is consistent with that of raw materials. This study proves that the new micromixer has good mixing effect and the feasibility of preparing nano TATB. It also provides reference for the design of micromixer and refinement of other energetic materials.