WATUSI Blast (Photo courtesy of National Nuclear Security Administration/
Nevada Site Office)

Explosives Safety, Testing & Design

OMICRON has been working with U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)'s explosive facilities since the start of the company. Our staff have worked at the Pantex Plant, Device Assembly Facility (DAF), Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), and Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) to support the design, testing, and safety of explosives.

• Explosive Phenomenological Modeling/Simulation: OMICRON's staff have developed and assisted DOE laboratories, such as LANL and SNL, to model:
  
  Slow Cookoff—Our engineers used Mathematica and FlexPDE software to develop 2-D models to simulate Large-Scale Annular Cookoff Experiments using PBX-9501 explosive. The simulation included the study of the shock propagation and radial heating studies.
  
  Shape Charge Codes—Our staff have developed the conical Shaped Charge Analysis Program (SCAP) and Linear Explosive Shaped Charge Analysis (LESCA) computer codes to design explosive shaped charges for a wide variety of applications. These codes are used to predict the jet projectile-generated damage (depth of penetration, hole diameter, and volume) to various access delay barriers or structures, spent fuel casks, reactor concrete storage casks, hazardous materials transporters, weapon storage vaults, and military armored tanks. Other applications include the breakup of large granite boulders for the Alaska Gas Pipeline Program, generation of precursor holes in rock or concrete structures for earth penetrator programs, initiation to detonation of cased explosives or bombs, and many other jet penetration- or sabotage-related programs.
  
  Shockwave Physics Analyses—Our engineers can simulate shock propagations and interactions (shock wave reflection, rarefaction or expansion wave generation, etc.) using the Mathematica, CTH, and Hugoniot Equation of State (HEOS) computer codes. These codes can be used for the modeling/simulation of shock initiation of most explosives, explosive cookoff experiments, and to determine the pressure, particle velocity, and shock velocity conditions for materials undergoing high-pressure loading.
• Explosive Charge Design: OMICRON's staff designed explosively driven shock or blast tunnels for blast testing of structures. We designed various shaped charges that generate relatively large and deep holes through a wide variety of materials.
• Explosives Safety: We supported the implementation of the DOE Explosives Safety Manual at the Pantex Plant and other DOE facilities such as DAF. The implementation ensures that the requirements of the Explosives Safety Manual have been captured in the Documented Safety Analysis (DSA). In addition, our staff use computer codes, such as BLASTX and CTH, to analyze solid, liquid, and gas explosions in support of the preparation of DSAs and shock tube experiments. CONWEP and BLASTX codes can be used for general blast analyses. Our staff are also capable of analyzing missile fragment ranges, blast effects on humans, kinetic energy projectile penetration of structures, and the design of access delay barriers.
• Explosive Testing: OMICRON's staff have been involved in planning and designing test explosive devices, fabricating charge components, developing various diagnostics to be used to record test data, supervising explosive tests, evaluating test data, documenting test results, and modifying and updating the computer models of the tested systems for future use.