BAM Trauzl test: UN Series F, Test F.3

The BAM Trauzl test (UN Test F.3) can be used to study the detonation behavior of a substance in order to exclude detonation-capable properties.

To verify that a substance is not capable of detonation, standardized and cylindrically shaped Trauzl lead blocks made of pure soft lead are used with a height and diameter of 200 mm. These have an axial recess of 25 mm diameter and 125 mm depth with a volume of 61 cm³. 10 cm³ of the substance is loaded into this hole (solids are wrapped in aluminum foil and liquids are tested in specially made, thin-walled glass cylinders) and a standard detonator with 0.6 g nitropenta (PETN) as initial igniter is placed in the middle of the substance. The remaining volume of the borehole is plugged with dry, fine quartz sand (see Figure 1). The system thus plugged is detonated using an ignition system (ignition capacitor) (see Figure 2).

After successful detonation and careful cleaning of the borehole, the volume increase (expansion) of the 61 cm³ borehole is determined and converted to a substance quantity of 10 g. If the expansion of the lead block determined with this test is less than 10 cm³ per 10 g of substance, detonative properties can be excluded for the substance under investigation. If the expansion is equal to or greater than 10 cm³ per 10 g of substance, a more detailed investigation of the detonation behavior is necessary.

Result	Classification according to UN Test F.3
Expansion of the lead block is less than 10 cm³ per 10 g of sample	“No”
Expansion of the lead block is less than 25 cm³ but greater than or equal to 10 cm³ per 10 g of sample	“Low”
Expansion of the lead block is 25 cm³ or more per 10 g sample	“Not Low”