Processing Techniques for Explosives

The density of explosive fillings contained in munitions should be as close as possible to the theoretical maximum density (TMD) of formulations, which is calculated from the crystal densities of ingredients of an explosive formulation, taking into account their relative proportions. The density of a formulation directly affects its performance as is shown by an empirical relationship (Equation 3.1)  

High Energy Materials Propellants, Explosives and Pyrotechnics. Jai Prakash Agrawal 

Copyright 2010 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH Co. KGaA, Weinheim 

Processing of an explosive is performed by one of the following techniques depending upon the caliber of weapon, particle size of the explosive and quantity involved. The general outlines of the processing techniques are given here. 

Processing of explosives through casting techniques is done in the following manner. 

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Chemical and physical processing techniques for ferroelectric thin films have undergone explosive advancement in the past few years (see Ref. 1, for example). The use of PZT (PbZri- cTi c03) family ferroelectrics in the nonvolatile and dynamic random access memory applications present potentially large markets [2]. Other thin-film devices based on a wide variety of ferroelectrics have also been explored. These include multilayer thin-film capacitors [3], piezoelectric or electroacoustic transducer and piezoelectric actuators [4-6], piezoelectric ultrasonic micromotors [7], high-frequency surface acoustic devices [8,9], pyroelectric intrared (IR) detectors [10-12], ferroelectric/photoconduc-tive displays [13], electrooptic waveguide devices or optical modulators [14], and ferroelectric gate and metal/insulator/semiconductor transistor (MIST) devices [15,16]. 

Explosihility screening. In the literature an extensive collection of explosion properties of chemical compounds can be found. However, if literature is unavailable or properties have not been examined yet, a number of initial screening techniques exist. If the checks for explosibility of the starting materials, intermediates, or products reveal a great hazard from deflagration or detonation, it is advisable to abandon the process. 

One can view samples from an explosion scene as belonging to one of two work streams (i) clean and (ii) dirty. Separation between these work streams needs to be established at the earliest possible moment in the process with appropriate laboratory facilities to handle each. The clean work stream contains items which are to be examined for invisible chemical traces of explosives. Such items need protection from any external contamination to a degree commensurate with the sensitivity of the chemical analysis techniques to be employed. The dirty work stream contains items that do not require trace analysis precautions, e.g., scene debris for physical searching. Nonetheless, such items still need to be handled in a way which protects their evidential integrity. Some items can start in the clean stream and then be transferred to the dirty stream, e.g., damaged motor vehicles may first be examined for explosive traces, and then transferred out of the trace examination area to be searched for physical evidence. 

Explosive Excavation, Instant. The Corps of Engineers is in the process of developing a construction technique called "explosive excavation which.promises to save money, time, and the environment. Rows of 1 to 10 ton explosive charges are buried in a pattern to both break up the material and move it out of the excavation (See Fig Ex5). Controlled blasting techniques minimize fracturing beyond the excavation boundary. Illustration shows arrangement for a 500-foot long railroad cut at Trinidad, Colorado. In several demonstrations, cost was less than... 

Corporation of San Diego, California, began the development of an automated radiation gauging inspection system for large caliber artillery shell intended to replace the X-ray technique. The system was named AIDECS for Automatic Inspection Device for Explosive Charge in Shell and is still in the process of test and development as of this writing. The ultimate objective is to produce a system capable of making accept/reject decisions on a production basis at a rate of about 1 minute per shell... 

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