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REPORT DATE (DD-MM-YYYY)
SPONSOR/MONITOR'S REPORT NUMBER(S)
AFRL-ML-TY-TR-2004-4529
DISTRIBUTION / AVAILABILITY STATEMENTA: Approved For Public Release; Distribution Unlimited
SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES
ABSTRACTWithin the military community there are many places where munitions are stored, handled, moved, worked with, tested, assembled, or disassembled. In each of these areas there is always the possibility of an unplanned detonation. The concept Active Water for Effective Suppression of Munitions Explosions (AWESOME) would detect an explosion event and would actively respond to it by triggering a projected release of water at the explosion or in the path of the pressure wave. This released blast of water would stop the explosion shock wave propagation at that point and would mitigate the blast effects at the specific point where protection from an explosion is desired. This work effort concentrated on designing an active water discharge system that could move large masses of water with a goal of exceeding 300 feet per second. Several methods were evaluated that minimized the quantity of explosive material required to move the water at desired velocities.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARYWithin the military community there are many places where munitions are stored, handled, moved, worked with, tested, assembled, or disassembled. In each of these areas there is always the possibility of an unplanned detonation. The ability to stop an explosion's propagation by an active explosion suppression system would save lives, equipment, and facilities. Stopping an explosion in an explosive storage facility would keep other explosives from detonating as a result of the initial explosion's blast effects.The Air Expeditionary Forces (AEF) Technologies Division, part of the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), at Tyndall AFB, Florida, has a research and development program to build a prototype active explosion suppression system based on past work accomplished by a number of military research and development organizations. The concept Active Water for Effective Suppression of Munitions Explosions (AWESOME) would detect an explosion event and would ...