The scope of PEDCS comprises work and issues associated with propellants, explosives, and other energetic formulations used in the development, manufacture, performance, and operation of weapons, propulsion systems, and gas generator devices. This subcommittee covers the technology areas required to develop, manufacture, and characterize propellants and ingredients. The manufacturing technologies of interest include mixing procedures, sampling and quality control, safety and handling practices, and the design and operation of mixing equipment. The characterization tests involve classical wet chemistry, instrumental analysis, chemical stability, compatibility, and calorimetric measurements.
The 45th Propellant and Explosives Development and Characterization Subcommittee sessions will be organized into the topic areas described below. Please submit your abstract according to the interest area. Please direct questions about any of the PEDCS mission areas to the JHU WSE ERG Technical Representative for PEDCS listed at the end of this section.
NOTE: If you meet the criteria of an Early Career Professional (Criteria: A student; Working in the field for less than five years; Have obtained your Doctorate within the last five years) you are eligible to submit a Poster Abstract for this subcommittee. For more information visit the Early Career Posters page.
Areas of interest included in the Call for Papers are:
Areas of interest include research, development, and improvement of methods of analysis and specifications for liquid propellants; development and characterization of new and existing liquid engine and gun propellants; assessment of materials compatibility, reaction chemistry, and reactivity with various propellants including hydrazine fuels, dinitrogen tetroxide oxidizers, gels, ionic and other monopropellants, and liquid gun propellants. The evaluation of liquid propellant supply status and qualification of new or alternate suppliers is also of importance.
Mission Area focuses on development, characterization and testing of explosives to improve ordnance reliability and increase lethal effects. Topics of interest include reactive materials, increased metal acceleration, air-blast performance, as well as advances in the study of initiation and growth of detonation events. Abstracts especially sought in the following areas:
Papers are sought in the areas of propellant and energetic formulation development and processing technology. Additional areas of interest include the measurement and characterization of rheological properties such as viscosity, yield stress, pot life/gelation time, cure rate, and viscoelasticity and their effect on properties such as processability, burning rate, and mechanical behavior. Of particular interest are the continuous and novel processing of energetic formulations as well as lessons-learned in propellants and explosives manufacture.
Areas of interest include chemical and combustion test methods to analyze and characterize energetic materials and their formulations including solid and liquid propellants, warheads, pyrotechnics, fuses, and initiators, especially those pertaining to tactical and strategic propellants and associated energetics that contain novel ingredients; modifications of current test methods or alternate procedures that minimize/eliminate the use of ozone depleting solvents or other adverse organic chemicals; statistics of sample selection; techniques of sample preparation; methods development for microcalorimeter instruments, gun propellant, and rocket propellant; and related subjects. Additional focus is an emphasis to document and track on-going propellant and warhead raw material obsolescence and related testing of new replacement materials.
Topics include identification of advances and challenges in the area of solid propellant ingredients and formulations with emphasis on ingredient synthesis and production, industrial base and supplier status, chemical, structural and physical characteristics (including reactivity), and recovery, reuse, and disposal of ingredients as well as the qualification and use of new and novel ingredients in propellant formulations.
Papers are sought on analysis techniques for the determination of the chemical aging behavior and safe storage of solid propellants. Of particular interest are the decomposition of solid propellants that contain nitrate esters and the autoignition risk that may result from their degradation. New areas of interest include Munition Health Management and Predictive Maintenance for ageing and lifetime extension.
Seeking research in the areas of formulation and processing of propellants and associated components (igniters, case and packaging materials, etc.) for use in gun propulsion. This can include new compositions, new ingredient development, novel geometries and structures, propellant development protocols, performance diagnostics, aging and shelf life, increased performance, reduced wear and erosion, as well as insensitive munitions response.
Papers are sought on the development of environmentally sustainable energetic ingredients, formulations, and processing technologies with an emphasis on the following: reduction of impacts from energetic materials and unexploded ordnance on military ranges, manufacturing and demilitarization facilities; enhancement of recycling, recovery, reuse and reduction of waste; and response to specific impacts that environmental regulations have had on military readiness, such as limiting training with live ordnance, outsourcing of manufacturing overseas or explicit banning of the use of specific materials.
This Mission Area addresses the development of additive manufacturing (AM) methods for energetic materials to include: material, formulation and process development and optimization of energetic materials to enable effective additive manufacturing; advanced manufacturing methods for inert components of energetic systems, including automated fiber placement for composite components or AM methods for metallic components; methods for automating manufacturing steps to improve speed, repeatability, safety, or other characteristics; non-destructive evaluation techniques; design and analysis methods, techniques, and tools to assess AM materials and systems produced to include those that address service life, reliability and critical defects assessments; studies that assess the merit of applying AM methods to particular systems or classes of systems; and development of Lot Acceptance Test (LAT) methods to measure the burn rate and mechanical properties that are efficient and effective for materials produced by additive manufacturing, to include alternatives to casting or extruding blocks of propellant to make burn rate strands and/or JANNAF dog-bones.