Primacord is a brand of

detonating cord Detonating cord (also called detonation cord, detacord, detcord, primer cord, or sun cord) is a thin, flexible plastic tube usually filled with pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN, pentrite). With the PETN exploding at a rate of approximately , ...

used in blasting. The

registered trademark The registered trademark symbol, , is a typographic symbol that provides notice that the preceding word or symbol is a trademark or service mark that has been registered with a national trademark office. A trademark is a symbol, word, or word ...

Primacord was originally owned by the

Ensign-Bickford Company The Ensign-Bickford Aerospace & Defense Company (formerly The Ensign-Bickford Company) is a manufacturer of hardware and energetic systems for use in spacecraft, military, and industrial applications. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Ensign-Bic ...

; Ensign-Bickford sold the trademark to

Dyno Nobel Dyno Nobel is a manufacturer of explosives. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Incitec Pivot Limited operating in Australia, Canada, the United States, Africa, Indonesia, Mexico, South America, Papua New Guinea and Turkey. They provide the expl ...

in 2003, who manufacture it in their

Graham, Kentucky Graham is a census-designated place (CDP) located in Muhlenberg County, Kentucky, United States. History A post office was established in the community in 1904. Graham was named for William Graham Duncan, the Scottish-American owner of the W. G. ...

factory. The name is also used as a

genericized trademark A generic trademark, also known as a genericized trademark or proprietary eponym, is a trademark or brand name that, because of its popularity or significance, has become the generic term for, or synonymous with, a general class of products or ...

for any detonating cord.

Description

Primacord consists of a continuous core of

PETN Pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN), also known as PENT, PENTA, (ПЕНТА, primarily in Russian) TEN, corpent, or penthrite (or, rarely and primarily in German, as nitropenta), is an explosive material. It is the nitrate ester of pentaerythri ...

RDX RDX (abbreviation of "Research Department eXplosive") or hexogen, among other names, is an organic compound with the formula (O2N2CH2)3. It is a white solid without smell or taste, widely used as an explosive. Chemically, it is classified as a ...

or other

high explosive An explosive (or explosive material) is a reactive substance that contains a great amount of potential energy that can produce an explosion if released suddenly, usually accompanied by the production of light, heat, sound, and pressure. An exp ...

, bound by textile yarns and finished with plastic and wax as waterproofing agents. It is produced in eight strengths: Primaline is a related product differing principally in having a plastic jacket instead of textile. Primaline is also available in higher loadings, up to 85 g/m (400 gr/ft): {, class="wikitable" ! Name !! Loading g/ m ( gr/ ft) !! Colour , - , Primaline 4D , , 3.6 (18) , , Orange , - , Primaline 4HS , , 3.6 (18) , , Clear with blue stripe , - , Primaline 5 , , 5.3 (25) , , Orange with wax coating , - , Primaline 5D , , 5.3 (25) , , Orange , - , Primaline 5NF , , 5.3 (25) , , Yellow , - , Primaline 8D , , 8.6 (40) , , Orange , - , Primaline 8HS , , 8.6 (40) , , Clear with black stripe , - , Primaline 10HS , , 10.6 (50) , , Clear with red stripe , - , Primaline 21 , , 21.3 (100) , , Clear , - , Primaline 32 , , 31.9 (150) , , Clear , - , Primaline 42 , , 42.5 (200) , , Clear , - , Primaline 85 , , 85 (400) , , Light green

Operation

Primacord is initiated with a

blasting cap A detonator, frequently a blasting cap, is a device used to trigger an explosive device. Detonators can be chemically, mechanically, or electrically initiated, the last two being the most common. The commercial use of explosives uses electri ...

or by a ''donor line'' of detonating cord or other high explosive. It detonates along its entire length at a velocity of approximately 23,000 feet (7,000 meters) per second. It is used to create explosive effects and to build reliable explosive charges. It is used in conjunction with other high explosive materials to form charges, including linear charges, capable of near instantaneous results.

References

Detonators Explosives

Description

Operation

See also

References