Publications

Sandia National Laboratories is developing innovative alternative technology to replace open burn/open detonation (OB/OD) operations for the destruction and disposal of obsolete, excess, and off-spec energetic materials. Alternatives to OB/OD are necessary to comply with increasingly stringent regulations. This program is developing an alternative technology to destruct energetic materials using organic amines with minimal discharge of toxic chemicals to the environment and defining the application of the by-products for the manufacture of structural materials.

Development of this pyrotechnic occurred because of the need for a static insensitive material to meet personnel safety requirements and related system safety issues in nuclear weapon energetic material component designs. Ti subhydride materials are made by the thermal dehydrding of commercial Ti hydride powder to the desired equivalent hydrogen composition in the Ti lattice. These Ti subhydrides, when blended with K perchlorate, meet the static insensitivity requirement of not being initiated from an equivalent human body electrostatic discharge. Individual material and blend qualification requirements provide a reproducible material from lot to lot. These pyrotechnic formulations meet the high reliability requirements (0.9995) for initiation and performance parameters and have the necessary stability and compatibility to meet long lived requirements of more than 25 years. Various experiences and problems are also discussed that have led to a mature technology for Ti subhydride/K perchlorate during its use in energetic material component designs.