Explosive Technology Group

The Explosive Technology Group (ETG) provides diverse technical expertise and an agile, integrated approach to solve complex challenges for all classes of energetic materials (EM) and explosive components. The Explosive Technology Group  has a plethora of unique technical capabilities that enable an engineering science approach to component design and development, and probe the science underlying EM performance, safety, and reliability in normal and abnormal environments.

Our customer and partner base includes the National Nuclear Security Administration, other Department of Energy partners, and numerous Work-for-Other customers including Department of Defense , academia, and industry.

Available Resources:

  • Four specialized buildings housing laboratories and facilities with state-of-the-art equipment, diagnostics, and multiple indoor/outdoor testing sites that support a broad spectrum of engineering and science operations utilizing milligrams to 5,000 pounds of EM.  
  • Integrated multi-disciplinary teams of more than 100 experienced engineers, chemists, physicists, and modelers.
  • Complete suite of chemical/thermal/physical/mechanical characterization tools; ultrafast and advanced diagnostics; optics and cameras for performance measurements; inert and EM machining; rapid prototype lab for specialized hardware and explosive component device manufacture; and specialized tools/diagnostics to meet validation and testing needs.

Resources enable multiple key technologies:

  • Extensive expertise in research, development, and application of energetic materials
  • Conventional and advanced explosive component design, development, evaluation, and modeling
  • Unique combinations of physical/chemical characterization and testing of EM for advancing energetic material science and technologies
  • Model development for design engineers and understanding the physics of EM in static and dynamic conditions
  • Miniaturization of explosive components
  • Aging and failure modes analysis
  • Safety and reliability assessments
  • Development of advanced EM detection technologies
  • Quantitative analysis of EM performance in abnormal environments
  • Ballistic testing and analysis
  • Ability to integrate multiple technologies to address new areas of interest