Learning about environmental safely disposal of munition

1. Demilitarization Techniques for Environmental Friendly
and Safe Destruction of Ammunition
Prepared By . Sandy

2. References
• Review of demilitarisation and disposal techniques for munitions and related materials by josh wilkinson, royal
australian navy and duncan watt, tso, msiac
• Disposal of discarded munitions by liquid stream by j. Kmeč, p. Hreha, p. Hlaváček et al.

3. • Phases of Ammunition Demilitarization Process.
• Disposal of Ammunition by Destruction and Burning.
• Preparation for Destruction: Disassembly Techniques.
• Abrasive Water Jet Cutting (Mortar Bomb).
• Melting Out
• Cryofracture.
• Conclusion.
SCOPE

4. Military Spending of India
Source. SIPRI Trends in world Military Expo

5. Phases of Ammunition Demilitarization Process
 Preparing ammunition
 Transporting ammunition to demilitarization site.
 Receiving and unpacking transportation packages.
 Accounting and storing ammunition until
demilitarization.
 Disassembling, Breaking down and pre-treating
ammunition
 Removing energetics from munitions.
 Destroying energetics or destroying ammunition .
Source:Dynasafe Demil Systems AB 2012

6. Disposal of Ammunition by Burning
• Low explosives
(propellants), produce peak
pressures in excess of 3,500
atmospheres.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Ct81Tep28g

7. Disposal of Ammunition by Destruction
• High explosives produce
peak pressure of 36,000 to
360,000 atmospheres in less
than 4 microseconds .
• Pressure wave radiates
through the material at a
velocity (detonation velocity)
between 2,500 and 10,200
m/s.
• Produces 2 to 10 second
fireball (after burn)

8. Environmental Hazard of Burning and Detonation

9. Cutting Shell of Ammunition
What is alternative to open
burning and detonation ?

10. Preparation for Destruction: Disassembly Techniques
Disassemble or break down ammunition prior to destruction process.
Required to limit the amount of contained explosive.
Different components to have separate destruction methods.
Available technologies include:
 Manual disassembly
 Mechanical disassembly/breakdown
 Robotic disassembly
 Cryofracture
 Hydro-abrasive cutting
 Melt-out.
Exposure of minimum explosive to final destruction facility.
Destruction decision based on cost, safety and environmental considerations, as well as
type of munitions being destroyed.

11. Mechanical Techniques
Reverse engineering by unscrewing of fuzes, fill plugs or
baseplates.
Use of a mechanical tool.
Crushing or pressing machines to break up a munition
Cutting by use of saw.
Specific equipment for particular munitions nature.
Equipment designed or modified for each demilitarization activity
and disassembly mechanism.
Require a skilled workforce and difficult to meet safety
requirements .
Mechanical methods used for energetics removal
Technique of contour drilling involves use of a mechanical drill
with a cam follower allows drill head to follow inside of projectile.
Drill head cannot be allowed to pinch explosive against shell wall
so it is impossible to remove all of filling.

12. Abrasive Water Jet Cutting
• Fluid jet . Pressurized fluid to cut or ablate materials.
• Two main roles in demilitarization:
• Disassembly in cutting or sectioning munitions.
Cutting of casing (More powerful jets)
• To reduce size of uncased energetic materials for
destruction (Less powerful jets)
• Removal by ablation or washout of energetic
materials from a casing.
• Fluid utilised be water termed a water jet or another
fluid such as liquid nitrogen or ammonia.
• Actual cutting mechanism.
• Abrasion of workpiece by high velocity particles in
water jet.
• Cutting process consists of two modes as figure 1
shows.
• Cutting wear mode. Material removed by particle
impact at shallow angles.
• Deformation wear mode. By material removal due to
excessive plastic deformation by impacts at large angles.
Source.https://www.mech4study.com/water-jet-abrasive-water-jet-machining-principle-working-equipment-application-advantages-and-disadvantages.html

13. Input Parameter and Response of AWJ Cutting

14. Demilitarization of Ammunition Waterjet Cutting and High Pressure
Water Jet Washout

15. Demilitarization Plan for Motar Bomb
Three Steps Explosive Train

16. Optimum Thickness of Motar Bomb
Thickness, velocity and number of fragments relations

17. Material Used for Mortar Bomb
Two determining factors
• Compressive strength. Force required to break cross-sectional area of steel by pushing at
both ends.
• Impact strength. Ability to take a sharp blow without breaking.
• Thermally stable.
• Steel or forged steel or cast iron ,it will break up on impact before fuze act
• Contain large bursting charge and break up into large number of medium-sized pieces.
• Prevent premature explosion by friction of grains of powder on discharge, so smooth
internal surface.
• Barrels reach high temperatures in launching (450 to 550°C).
• Gray Cast Iron with Yield strength of 965 MPa used primarily as shell bodies .
• Proof test 25% above explosive content so as to provide an adequate factor of safety.

18. Cryofracture

19. Cryofracture Demilitarization facility

20. Advantages of Cryofracture
 Environmentally sound alternative to traditional incineration systems and
hazardous open pit munitions destruction.
 Transportable and fixed cryofracture systems offer high throughput .
 No pre-processing requirements.
 Helping reduce per ton disposal costs.
 Automated conveyor systems and remotely controlled robotics .
 Help reduce staffing requirements and improve personnel safety.
 Complete, Transportable Cryofracture Systems provide mobility needed to
support multiple munition storage sites .

21. Steam Meltout
 Scheffler Dishes heat water in receiver, and convert
into steam. Scheffler dish is a small lateral section of a
paraboloid, which concentrates sun's radiation.
 Steam in Header Pipe Large at a max pressure of 10
bars.
 Plant operational once a pressure of 5 bars .
 Scheffler Dishes always focus incident sunlight on
‘Receivers’
 DC Automatic Tracking Mechanism moves dish every
60 seconds.
 Steam from Header Pipe Large fed to Header Pipe
Small and further to Nozzles for Steam Release.
 Steam released (at 100 C) by system focused into
mouth of shells held in stands (Medium Caliber and
High Caliber ammunition filled with Tri-Nitro-Toulene
(TNT), melting point of 80 C).
 Molten TNT collected in Steam Heated TNT collection
Trays.
 Automatic Pressure Gauges and Pressure Release
Valves .
 Optional Steam generator installed feeds steam in
Header Pipe large at requisite pressure.

22. Relative Advantages of Abrasive Water Jet Cutting
Advantages .
 Maximum thickness of material can be cut.
 Steel cutting in thicknesses up to 100 mm.
 Cut all materials irrespective of properties as melting point and thermal conductivity.
 Process is non-thermal (no heat affected zone associated with cut edge).
Disadvantages .
 Generation of waste : Produce large quantity of contaminated water. Needs to be
trapped and treated introducing considerable cost.
 Emulsions – water forms emulsions with many explosives. Link TNT forms ‘pink water’
which is toxic and difficult to dispose of.
 Explosive hazard –Desensitizes TNT. water wastes containing RDX and HMX can still
detonate and propagate while in piping.

23. Future Concept of Demilitarization plant in India