Timothy J. Shelley

DHS small-scale safety and thermal testing of improvised explosives-comparison of testing performance

One of the first steps in establishing safe handling procedures for explosives is small-scale safety and thermal (SSST) testing. To better understand the response of improvised materials or homemade explosives (HMEs) to SSST testing, 16 HME materials were compared to three standard military explosives in a proficiency-type round robin study among five laboratories-two DoD and three DOE-sponsored by DHS. The testing matrix has been designed to address problems encountered with improvised materials-powder mixtures, liquid suspensions, partially wetted solids, immiscible liquids, and reactive materials. More than 30 issues have been identified that indicate standard test methods may require modification when applied to HMEs to derive accurate sensitivity assessments needed for developing safe handling and storage practices. This paper presents a generalized comparison of the results among the testing participants, comparison of friction results from BAM (German Bundesanstalt fur Materi-alprufung) and ABL (Allegany Ballistics Laboratory) designed testing equipment, and an overview of the statistical results from the RDX (1,3,5-Trinitroperhydro-1,3,5-triazine) standard tested throughout the proficiency test.

Integrated Data Collection Analysis (IDCA) Program: FY2011 Project Descriptions

This document provides brief descriptions of research topics for consideration by the IDCA for potential funding in funding in FY 2011. The topics include the utilization of the results from the Proficiency Test developed during FY 2010 to start populating the small-scale safety and thermal testing (SSST) Testing Compendium and revising results from methods modifications. Other research topics were also developed for FY 2011 from issues that arose in the Proficiency Test.