Manfature of Explosives for Research Testing

Descriptions

The objective of this requirement is to manufacture explosives for research testing on a range of sizes and materials within bespoke geometries (typically without a casing). As these are for research characterisation or validation purposes, maximum care is required in terms of composition, quality control, consistency, mixing etc These tests include - Initiation/SDT (Shock to detonation transition) testing - UNDEX (UNDerwater EXplosion) - Near-field testing (0.1<Z<1 m/kg1/3) - Far-field testing - Confined testing - General charge boosters Requirements are to manufacture explosives to MIL spec or equivalent, unless otherwise agreed with Dstl, to a range of criteria. Examples of which include: - Materials: o TNT o PE6 o PBXN-109 o PBXN-111 o KS57 o LX17 o PBXN-5 o PBXN-110 o Propellants o Inert surrogates of explosives (e.g. PBXN-110 using sugar instead of HMX) o Research charges with requested composition (unique composition or change in particle size distribution etc) - Geometry: o Sphere o Hemisphere o Cylinder (various L/D) o Detonator or booster holes would likely be required - Casing o No casing (cast and then removed from moulds with minimum surface imperfections or machined after removal to ensure surface quality) o Plastic/polymer casings to allow visualisation of samples while being tested (e.g. temperature measurements during SDT testing) o Plastic/polymer casings to charge protection/separation from ambient conditions (e.g. for UNDEX charges) o Casing only, bespoke casings to be later filled (e.g. with nitromethane) o Metallic casings, various thickness of e.g. steel to either provide confinement or investigate fragmentation effects o Reactive metal casings, such as aluminium or magnesium to investigate combustion effects of the casings - Charge size o Small (e.g. <10g) up to large (e.g. 200kg)