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Advanced Energetic Materials (2004) / Chapter Skim
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3 Thermobaric Explosives
Pages 16-19

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From page 16...
... The committee heard extensive presentations by speakers from Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) , Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, agencies from the United Kingdom and Canada, and DoD agencies.- While the focus of these groups varies significantly, each of the presentations began with reference to weapons of the former Soviet Union (FSUy, fielded in the 1980s, that were deployed by the FSU in Chechnya and which reportedly exhibited highly unusual effects in confined environments.
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From page 17...
... The committee's assessment of the present state of thermobarics research and testing in the United States is that it is relatively immature and not particularly well structured.s As discussed further below, the committee believes that this is a result of the following: The speed with which the United States attempted to field a thermobaric munition clone for use in Afghanistan; The inability and reluctance of the services to field new materials (hence, the redefinition of thermobarics to include Indian Head Explosive 135 fIH-13511; · The unclear definition of terms; The lack of careful analysis and experimentation; Inadequate diagnostics that have perpetuated the reliance on anecdotal evidence as opposed to data; and Testing against varied types of targets and unclear scale effects. An advanced concept technology demonstration (ACTD)
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From page 18...
... Only a longer and broader view will avoid certain disappointment with limited progress in this potentially promising technology area. The Advanced Energetics Initiative has funded work focused on understanding the fundamental physical phenomena of thermobaric explosives.
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From page 19...
... The explosives community typically ranks explosive materials by some figure of merit, typically detonation velocity or pressure. Through decades of scientific study, such detonation properties have been used to predict performance characteristics such as brisance (the rapidity with which an explosive develops its maximum pressure)
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  • increased impulse

  • actd program
  • explosive develops
  • confined warhead
  • features seen
  • extra combustion

  • inadequate diagnostics
  • advanced energetic
  • concept technology
  • selected tests
  • ranks explosive

  • predictive understanding
  • internal blast
  • varied types
  • target mix
  • potential thermobaric

  • lethal effects
  • explosive application
  • typically ranks
  • lethal energy
  • efficient program


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