SBIR-STTR Award

The hazardous nature inherent in the handling of solid rocket motors is very well documented. Adding to this inherent danger, the activity of dissection for the purpose of evaluation poses significant challenges in terms of safety and handling of both the dissected rocket motor before, during and after dissection and the handling of the particulate created in the dissection process.This proposal intends to address these challenges to the safety and the effectiveness of the dissection process by minimizing the amount of particulate produced, eliminating the potentialfor heat or ignition sources from being produced and automating the process to such a degree as to minimize the interaction of personnel to only that which is absolutely necessary. All dissection activities will be carried out by automated systems. All monitoring will be recorded by automated subsystems capable of shutting down the system and engaging fire suppression hardware at the moment the dissection process exceeds safety tolerances. Monitoring by personnel will available at a safe distance from the dissection activities. All particulate handling and collection will be automated to the utmost extent possible leaving personnel interaction only in the removal of the particulate collection vehicle to an appropriate burn site.

Dissecting missile motors for the analysis of the chemical and physical properties of the propellant is indeed an inherently dangerous process. Ignition of the propellant during the dissection process would surely result in the catastrophic loss of facility and personnel. The process of dissection must perform with a bare minimum of well understood, monitored and managed risk factors all while maximizing throughput of the facility and maintaining the integrity of the propellant sample for accurate testing. Only when we have achieved these objectives will we have an effective and safe process.