ENERGETIC SYSTEMS HAZARDS SUBCOMMITTEE

The JANNAF 34th Energetic Systems Hazards Subcommittee meeting will address hazards and related technology areas for energetic materials (including propellants, explosives, and pyrotechnics) found in propulsion systems of munitions. Topics of interest include the identification of potential hazards to energetic systems, the application of meaningful computational / experimental methods for assessing hazard risk, the determination of important hazard technology areas, and the development and standardization of computational / experimental methods for minimizing the risk of hazards in relevant systems. Papers are invited that (a) address any aspect of vulnerability and survivability, loading and firing hazards of propulsion systems, and weapon systems safety; or (b) aid in synthesizing, interpreting, and validating current knowledge to make research and development results more useful to the design engineer. Meeting topics generally fall into one of two groups: (1) hazards evaluation or (2) hazards mitigation technology.

ESHS Mission Areas

Areas of interest included in the Call for Papers are:

Mission Area I: Thermal Decomposition and Cookoff

Mission Area I addresses hazards associated with thermal decomposition and cookoff of energetic materials, ammunition, munitions, and rocket motors.

  • Thermal Decomposition, Ignition, and Combustion: Fundamental experimental and modeling studies of thermal decomposition of reactive materials including EM ingredients and formulations; changes in reactivity from autocatalytic, self-heating and confinement effects; thermal ignition of EMs; and combustion of EMs in off-design scenarios. (Papers in this area may be considered for joint ESHS/CS sessions.)

  • Thermally-Induced Damage Effects: Research related to thermally-induced damagewith the potential to produce changes in burning rate and material sensitivity with implications for both safety and performance. Studies of the creation, measurement, and assessment of thermal damage in EMs and the associated safety and/or performance effects are encouraged. (Papers in this area may be considered for joint ESHS/CS sessions.)

  • Cookoff Hazards Assessment and Mitigation: Cookoff response of energetics systems and components; cookoff mitigation technologies; threat/hazards assessment (THA) of cookoff scenarios; relationships between THA and cookoff test procedures; small scale test methodologies for predicting cookoff of full scale systems; effects of heating rate on cookoff response.

  • Thermal and Combined Environments: Hazards from thermal environments produced in operational and accident scenarios. This may include experimental and modeling studies of the environments themselves (e.g. aerothermal heating, fire, etc.) and the response of energetic systems (propellants, explosives) to those environments. Effects of combined mechanical/thermal environments produced by accident scenarios (e.g. crash-and-burn) and advanced delivery systems (e.g. g-force, vibration + aerothermal) are also of interest.

Mission Area II: Shock / Impact-Induced Reactions

Mission Area II is focused on chemical reactions in energetic materials resulting from either strong or weak impacts. These chemical reactions may result in a detonative response (e.g., a shock-to-detonation transition [SDT]) or a sub-detonative event (e.g., deflagration).

  • Energetic Materials Testing: The development and use of shock sensitivity tests such as gap testing, as well as material characterization experiments (e.g., gas gun experiments and wedge tests).

  • Modeling and Simulation: Topics related to model development and simulations used for predicting energetic material’s response to stimulus and impact.

  • System Performance and Lethality: Data necessary for model validation and improved characterization of energetic impact events.

Mission Area III: Insensitive Munitions Technology

Mission Area III supports advances in technologies reduce or eliminate violent response by a munition when exposed to unintentional stimuli, such as fast or slow heating, bullet or fragment impact, or shaped charge jet impact.

  • IT Technology: Historical reviews of prior IM technology developments and lessons learned from integration into munitions, ongoing development efforts both general and specific to systems/munitions, design and functional details of passive and active mitigation concept, results of IM and Safety testing of components and complete systems, and eveluation of the relationship between small-scale and full-scale testing.

  • Emerging Issues: New IM concepts, design trade-off studies, novel computational methods, leveraging different computational methodologies for RDT&E, new and emerging threats, new and/or revised experimental test and evaluation methodologies/analyses, updates to the NATO IM Portfolio, and harmonization of tests/analyses such as the new Insensitive Munitions - Hazard Classification (IM-HC) AOP-4864.

Mission Area IV: Vulnerability of Stowed Energetics

Mission Area IV focuses on the response of onboard energetic materials — including fuels, batteries, refrigerants, and stowed munitions — to an ignition source (e.g., shaped charge jet).

  • Stowed Energetic Response: Detonation, deflagration, or detonation to deflagration (DDT) reactions or burning of any vehicle based energetic system (i.e., fuels used for propulsion, hydraulic oils, lubricants, stowed propellants and ammunition, Li-ion batteries, refrigerants, etc.) when subjected to an ignition source.

  • Experiment Methodologies: Data collection, analysis and results and modeling and simulation, included but not limited to vulnerabilities to vehicle platforms and mitigation solutions, sympathetic detonation, response of vehicle energetics to overmatching ballistic threats, and characterization of non-conventional energetic materials.

Mission Area V: Safety and Hazard Classification of Solid and Liquid Energetics

Mission Area V addresses explosives safety siting and hazard classification for DoD ammunition and explosives, small arms, CAD/PAD, rocket motors, warheads, bombs, energetic liquids, and any system that contains energetic materials:

  • Propulsion Systems Safety and Hazard Classification: Harmonization of hazard classification and insensitive munitions testing, issues identified by the service safety offices, hazard classification issues, differences between insensitive munitions and hazard classification and safety testing and standardization, assessment of response and pass/fail criteria, alternate test protocols and the role of small scale to full scale testing and hazard classification, and miscellaneous safety issues and programs.

  • Hazard Classification of Large Solid Rocket Motors: Test methods/procedures, analysis techniques, experimental data and computer simulation results related to the assessment of hazard response of large solid rocket motors for hazard classification purposes. In particular, papers covering three hazard scenarios are of interest, including: (1) detonation/explosive reaction characteristics of various propellant families subjected to explosive shocks, for example critical diameter, shock sensitivity, and the relationship between the two parameters; (2) response of large SRMs in an engulfing fire or fast cookoff scenario; and (3) criteria and effects of propellant damage on hazard response of large SRMs in impact and other accident scenarios.

  • Energetic Liquids, Hypergolics and Gels: The Department of Defense Explosives Safety Board establishes criteria for the hazard classification and siting of energetic liquids, hypergolics and gels DESR 6055.09. These criteria were last updated in the late 1990’s. Current space initiatives require new energetic materials and new combinations of existing materials. These materials in new configurations require improved/new tests and methods for hazard classification. They also, require approaches for siting a variety of configurations, concentrations, purity, etc. Alternative test methods, the role of small scale to full scale testing for hazard classification, modelling and miscellaneous safety issues need to be determined and evaluated.

Mission Area VI: Energetic Defect Characterization

Mission Area VI supports ongoing work in the energetics community performed by the DoD, DOE, and others to evaluate and predict the effects of defected energetic materials in extreme environments such as launch, hypersonic flight, and target impact.

  • Defect Parameterization and Criticality Deduction: Defect detection and determination; munition and energetics inspection; X-Ray and XCT SOPs and specifications; characterization of defects by type, parameter, and location.

  • Testing and Evaluation: New/novel experimental methodologies, SOPs, and equipment; new/novel computational methodologies, codes, and software; applicable sub-scale evaluation techniques for defect characterization; time scales and granularity of defect parameter analyses.

JHU WSE ERG Technical Representative

For questions related to this subcommittee and its mission areas, please contact:

Mr. William A. Bagley, JHU WSE ERG / Columbia, MD
Telephone:  (410) 718-5009
Email:          wbagley@erg.jhu.edu