SBIR-STTR Award

Digital Solid State Propulsion is proposing to develop an Electrically Variable Explosive (EVE) which, through direct electrical control, will provide on-demand sensitization and throttling for enhanced energy output in explosive fills. EVEs are based upon DSSP’s Electric Solid Propellant (ESP) Technology which has demonstrated modified burning rates with electrical input, on/off operation in the sub-millisecond range, and the ability to generate plasma at low power while maintaining insensitive properties. DSSP will leverage this technology and concurrent efforts on DoD and commercial programs, to develop an energetic material for explosive applications. With the help of IllinoisRocstar LLC., DSSP will build a supporting multiphysics model for the EVE’s and Safety Management Services Inc. will help prove the feasibility of electrically responsive explosives by demonstrating on-demand sensitization of EVEs with card gap testing. Successful conclusion of this effort will provide an explosive that, by application of electrical power, can be converted from an insensitive 1.3/1.4 hazard class material to a 1.1 detonable material. The effort will also validate the opportunity of exploration into advanced concepts with EVEs such as variation and enhancement of detonation velocities with electrical power. This novel family of materials will provide the responsive energetics needed for Air Force applications.

Benefits:
By developing this technology DOD has a viable approach to produce insensitive variable yield explosive warhead fills. Commercially variable yield explosives are most applicable to rock breaking for enhanced oil and gas recovery. Adjustable yield explosives can be used to adjust blast induced fracture density downhole.

Keywords:
explosive warhead, insensitive munitions, enhanced lethality, adjustable yield lethality, green, electromagnetic, energetic materials

This Phase II SBIR is the continuation of DSSP’s Phase I work into the development of their novel solid state energetic material into an extremely insensitive, non-toxic, and electrically controllable explosive as a replacement for current Mk 82/83/84 bomb fills. This additional insensitivity does not sacrifice performance, as chemical performance modeling shows that an aluminized version of DSSP’s energetic, dubbed HIPEX, can meet or exceed the performance of PBXN-109 currently used in the GMLRS variant M31. Phase II efforts aim to test the extent to which HIPEX can be actively primed using in-situ low energy electrical impulses to increase sensitivity and explosive performance of the energetic material. This will create an explosive that has the invaluable characteristics of a 1.3 or 1.4 material throughout manufacturing, transportation, storage, and installation, while having the ability to switch its performance capabilities to that of a 1.1 detonable material just before deployment. Phase II work will include a research and development effort into the electrically controlled priming of HIPEX, sub-scale system sensitivity and performance testing, as well as the development of a scalable physics-based, shock-detonation model of HIPEX in system scale configurations through collaboration with Illinois RocStar LLC.

Benefits:
Variable yield, low hazard, high performance explosives would be a game changer for DOD. These low hazard explosives will allow safer manufacturing and transportation of bomb systems. Since these explosives are also variable yield, this should lead to reducing collateral damage. Commercially, variable yield explosives are most useful in the oil field stimulation and mining.

Keywords:
controllable, insensitive munitions, explosive, electrically responsive, aluminized, sensitization, detonation, modeling