Thesis (MTech (Business Administration))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 65-67). Also available online.

Thesis (M.S.)--West Virginia University, 2008. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains x, 73 p. : ill. (some col.), col. maps. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 48-51).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Ohio University, November, 2007. / Release of full electronic text on OhioLINK has been delayed until November 30, 2008 Includes bibliographical references (leaves 147-164)

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Ohio University, November, 2007. / Title from PDF t.p. Release of full electronic text on OhioLINK has been delayed until November 30, 2008 Includes bibliographical references (leaves 147-164)

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at El Paso, 2008. / Title from title screen. Vita. CD-ROM. Includes bibliographical references. Also available online.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--RAND Graduate School, 2009. / "This document was submitted as a dissertation in June 2009 in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the doctoral degree in public policy analysis at the Pardee RAND Graduate School. The faculty committee that supervised and approved the dissertation consisted of Gregory F. Treverton (Chair), Lynn E. Davis, David E. Mosher, and Walter L. Perry. Professor Kathryn Blackmond Laskey (George Mason University) was the external reader. Financial support for this dissertation was provided by RAND's National Defense Research Institute"--Cover. Title from title screen (viewed on Aug. 24, 2009). Includes bibliographical references: p. 100-105.

Improvised explosive devices (IEDs) continue to be a national threat to the safety and security of the public. Research in explosives analysis for intact and post-blast samples continue to be a topic in which practitioners are constantly improving and searching for faster methods and techniques to analyze these sample types. The key role crime laboratories play in analyzing these sample types can have limitations, such as increasing turnaround times and backlogs. This concern additionally plays a role in the safety of the public if an unknown individual has not been discovered. Current analytical instrumentation in which explosives are analyzed includes Gas Chromatography – Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS), Liquid Chromatography – Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS), and Ion Mobility Spectrometry (IMS). Each instrument has benefits in the analytical results obtained. Direct Analysis in Real Time - Mass Spectrometry (DART-MS) has shown a significant promise as an analytical approach that can help remedy the time an explosive sample is analyzed, while additionally providing discriminating analytical results. Previous research has shown that DART-MS is capable of analyzing explosives, including smokeless powder. A limitation currently in the area of smokeless powder analysis with DART-MS is the application of utilizing this method and technology to realistic casework that may be encountered in forensic laboratories. Intact and post-blast explosive samples encountered in forensic laboratories arrive in various states and conditions. For example, the severity of the blast and environmental factors may play a role in the detection of smokeless powder on these sample types. To provide objective information and additional research, studies were conducted with mixture samples of smokeless powder and potential matrices that may be encountered in real world case samples. Faster processing time, in addition to the discrimination of smokeless powder, was the ultimate goal of this research. Due to the complexity of the mass spectra that may be generated from sample mixtures, an extraction technique coupled with DART-MS was investigated. A liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) method and dynamic headspace concentration using Carbopack™ X coated wire mesh were tested for the effectiveness of separating the analytes of interest of smokeless powder from various matrix interferences. Hodgdon Hornady LEVERevolution (HHL) smokeless powder, Pennzoil 10W-40 (P10W40) motor oil, and residue from metal end caps (China SLK brand) and black steel pipe nipples (Schedule 40) were used during the course of the matrix interference study. The method of applying dynamic headspace concentration using Carbopack™ X coated wire mesh and analysis by DART-MS provides an effective alternative to obtaining mass spectral data in a shorter amount of time, compared to techniques currently used in forensic laboratories. Effective separation was not achieved using the various LLE methods tested. Further testing would be required in order to evaluate the feasibility of implementing the technique as a sample preparation approach prior to analysis by DART-MS.

The research described in this thesis seeks to explore a concept that has the potential to make a step-change for the control of the properties of energetic materials (sensitivity, long-term storage, processability, performance, etc.), resulting in safer munitions with enhanced performance. This concept is co-crystallisation and involves crystallisation of the energetic material with one or more molecular components in order to modify the properties of the composition. The concept has been demonstrated in the pharmaceutical sector as a successful means of altering the physical properties of active pharmaceutical ingredients, e.g. solubility, bioavailability, stability to humidity. This project therefore aims to exploit the concepts of crystal engineering and co-crystallisation as applied to selected energetic materials in order to achieve the following objectives: (i) develop an enhanced understanding of how structure influences key properties such as sensitivity, (ii) control the sensitivity of existing, approved energetic materials, and (iii) identify new energetic materials with enhanced properties, e.g. reduced sensitivity, higher performance, and increased thermal stability. The compound 3,5-nitrotriazolone (NTO) was crystallised with a selection of co-formers to produce salts and co-crystals. The structure properties of these materials were explored using single-crystal and powder X-ray diffraction, and structural features were correlated with properties such as crystal density, difference in pKa of co-formers, thermal properties, and sensitivity to impact. Detonation velocities of the co-crystals were calculated based on densities, chemical composition, and heats of formation. Co-former molecules included a series of substituted anilines, substituted pyridines (including 4,4’-bipyridine, 2-pyridone), and substituted triazoles. A co-crystal was formed between NTO and 4,4’-bipyridine on crystallisation from ethanol, whilst a salt was formed when crystallised from water. Upon heating the salt to 50ºC, the co-crystal was formed. Structural differences between the salts formed by NTO with 3,5-DAT and 3,4- DAT were correlated with structural features. 3,5-DAT.NTO is substantially less impact sensitive than 3,4-DAT.NTO, and this is attributed to the layered structure of 3,5-DAT.NTO. An investigation into triazole-based NTO salts under high pressure was conducted. A new polymorph of 3,5-DAT.NTO was discovered upon increasing the pressure to 2.89 GPa. The high-pressure phase appears to retain the layered structure and remains in this phase up to 5.33 GPa, although it was not recoverable upon decompression to atmospheric pressure. The compression behaviour of the unit cell volume for phase I of 3,5-DAT.NTO has been fitted to a 3rd-order Birch- Murnaghan equation of state (EoS) with V0 = 957.7 Å3, B0 = 8.2 GPa and B’0 = 14.7. The unit cell was found to be most compressible in the a and c directions. Under high pressure 3,4-DAT.NTO does not give any indication of a phase change occurring up to 6.08 GPa. The coefficients of the 3rd-order Birch-Murnaghan EoS have been determined to be V0 = 915.9 Å3, B0 = 12.6 GPa and B’0 = 6.5.

Le calcul des caractéristiques de détonation d’un explosif solide requiert l’utilisation d’équations d’état pour modéliser le comportement des produits de détonation. Cependant, les pressions et les températures auxquelles sont soumis ces produits rendent difficile la mise au point d’une équation d’état valide de la centaine de kilobars à la centaine de bar si l’on souhaite couvrir l’ensemble des effets d’une détonation. Les nombreuses recherches effectuées dans ce domaine ont abouti à l’élaboration d’un grand nombre d’équations d’état à caractère plus ou moins théorique ou empirique. Malheureusement aucune d’elle ne s’est révélée être entièrement satisfaisante. Dans ces travaux nous nous intéressons au domaine de validité à basse pression de l’équation d’état JWL implémentée dans les codes d’hydrodynamique et de l’équation BKW utilisée dans les codes de thermochimie pour les produits des matériaux énergétiques sous oxygénés. La première équation d’état considère le mélange des produits à une échelle macroscopique tandis que la seconde assure une description plus fine du mélange en considérant les différentes phases présentes. En effet, les produits de détonation comprennent en plus des molécules simples des particules solides de carbone. A cette fin, une étude numérique et expérimentale a été menée pour deux compositions explosives : la Composition B (RDX/TNT) et l’octoviton (HMX/Viton). Des expérimentations d’adaptation d’impédance entre des matériaux énergétiques et des matériaux inertes ont été réalisées afin de détendre les produits de détonation de la centaine de kilobars à quelques bars. Ce dispositif est instrumenté avec des métrologies innovantes dans le domaine de la détonique. La spectrométrie d’émission ultra rapide est utilisée pour effectuer l’analyse spectrale des produits de détonation au cours de leur détente dans le domaine spectral du visible. Deux signatures thermiques sont identifiées sur les spectres obtenus : l’une liée au rayonnement des gaz ionisés, l’autre liée au rayonnement des particules solides de carbone. L’interférométrie haute fréquence permet un enregistrement continu de la propagation du choc dans les différents milieux (explosif, matériau inerte). Ces expériences font l’objet de simulations numériques avec le code d’hydrodynamique Ouranos et le code de thermochimie SIAME du CEA. Les résultats expérimentaux et numériques concordent jusqu’à des pressions de l’ordre du kilobar. Ces deux mesures permettent d’avancer dans la validation de l’équation d’état des produits de détonation implémentée dans les codes numériques. / The calculation of detonation characteristics of condensed explosives requires the use of equations of state to model the behavior of the detonation products. However, the extreme pressures and temperatures of these products complicate the development of an equation of state, which is valid from hundreds of kilobars to hundreds of bars range. Numerous investigations in this field have resulted in the development of a large number of theoretical or empirical equations of state. Unfortunately, none of them have been entirely satisfactory. This work addressed the low-pressure range validity of the JWL equation of state and the BKW equation, respectively, used in hydrodynamic codes and the thermochemical codes for the products of energetic materials. The first equation of state considers the mixture of products on a macroscopic scale whereas the second one provides a more detailed description by considering the various phases of the products. The detonation products are composed of simple molecules and solid carbon particles. To this end, a numerical and experimental investigation was undertaken involving two explosive compositions: Composition B (RDX/TNT) and octoviton (HMX/Viton). Impedance matching of energetic materials with inert materials tests were performed to expand the detonation products from a hundred kilobars to a few bars. The setup was instrumented with innovative diagnostics not commonly used in detonation research: ultra-fast emission spectroscopy and high frequency interferometry. The former was used for carrying out the spectral analysis in the visible spectrum range of detonation products during their expansion. Two thermal signatures were identified in the experimental spectra: one associated with radiation from ionised gases, the other with radiation from solid particles of carbon. The latter was used to continuously record shock-wave propagation in the different media (explosive and inert materials). These experiments were simulated using the Ouranos hydrodynamic code and the SIAME thermochemical code from CEA. The experimental and numerical results were in agreement up to pressures of the order of 1 kbar. These measurements offer a set of validation points for the equations of state of detonation products implemented in numerical codes.

En physique des explosifs, la postcombustion désigne la phase de combustion qui intervient après la fin de la détonation lorsque l’explosif considéré est initialement déficient en oxydant. Les produits de détonation, qui apparaissent sous la forme d’une boule de feu, peuvent alors à leur tour être oxydés, ce qui permet de libérer une quantité supplémentaire d’énergie dans l’écoulement et d’augmenter le souffle. Ce phénomène complexe est piloté par l’interaction entre des ondes de chocs, une zone de mélange turbulente créée par des instabilités hydrodynamiques de type Rayleigh-Taylor et Richtmyer-Meshkov, et une flamme de diffusion. Compte tenu de son effet significatif sur la performance d’une explosif, une bonne compréhension de la postcombustion est nécessaire afin de pouvoir la modéliser et déterminer avec précision les effets d’une charge donnée. A cette fin, des travaux, à la fois numériques et expérimentaux, ont été menés afin de mieux comprendre le processus de mélange intervenant dans les boules de feu puis le phénomène dans son ensemble. Afin de contourner les difficultés liées à la caractérisation des produits de détonation, cette étude s’est concentrée sur l’explosion de capacités sphériques sous pression qui permet de produire un écoulement similaire à celui provoqué par une détonation sphérique. Les résultats obtenus sont semblables à ceux de la littérature sur la postcombustion des explosifs et apportent un éclairage nouveau sur l’influence de certains paramètres tels que la masse de l’explosif ou les propriétés des perturbations initiant les instabilités. / In the field of high explosives, the afterburning corresponds to the combustion processes occurring right after the end of a detonation, when the explosive used is originally oxidizer-deficient. Its detonation products, which appears as a fireball, can then be oxidised. The additional energy that their combustion generates enhances the blast and improves the explosive performance. This complex phenomenon is driven by the interaction between shock waves, a turbulent mixing layer caused by the emergence of Raylegh-Taylor and Richtmyer-Meshkov instabilities, and a diffusion flame. Because of its significant influence on the blast, a good understanding of the afterburning is thus necessary in order to model and predict accurately the effects of a given explosive device. To this end, an experimental and numerical work was conducted in order to, first, better understand the mixing process inside fireballs and, then, the whole phenomenon. In order to avoid the difficulties due to the imprecise characterisation of the detonation products, this study focused on the explosions of pressurised vessels which produces a flow similar to the one following a spherical detonation. The results are in good agreement with the ones found in the literature about the afterburning of high explosives. They also shed a new light on the influence of some parameters such as the mass of the charge or the properties of the perturbations initiating the instabilities.