{"71575":{"#nid":"71575","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Explosives on a Chip Improve Military Detonators","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ETiny copper structures with pores at both the nanometer and micron size scales could play a key role in the next generation of detonators used to improve the reliability, reduce the size and lower the cost of certain military munitions.  \u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EDeveloped by a team of scientists from the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) and the Indian Head Division of the Naval Surface Warfare Center, the highly-uniform copper structures will be incorporated into integrated circuits - then chemically converted to millimeter-diameter explosives.   \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBecause they can be integrated into standard microelectronics fabrication processes, the copper materials will enable micro-electromechanical (MEMS) fuzes for military munitions to be mass-produced like computer chips.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022An ability to tailor the porosity and structural integrity of the explosive precursor material is a combination we\u0027ve never had before,\u0022 said Jason Nadler, a GTRI research engineer. \u0022We can start with the Navy\u0027s requirements for the material and design structures that are able to meet those requirements.  We can have an integrated design tool able to develop a whole range of explosive precursors on different size scales.\u0022\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ENadler uses a variety of templates, including microspheres and woven fabrics, to create regular patterns in copper oxide paste whose viscosity is controlled by the addition of polymers.  He then thermochemically removes the template and converts the resulting copper oxide structures to pure metal, retaining the patterns imparted by the template.  The size of the pores can be controlled by using different templates and by varying the processing conditions.  So far, he\u0027s made copper structures with channel sizes as small as a few microns - with structural components that have nanoscale pores.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBased on feedback from the Navy scientists, Nadler can tweak the structures to help optimize the overall device - known as a fuze - which controls when and where a munition will explode.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022We are now able to link structural characteristics to performance,\u0022 Nadler noted.  \u0022We can produce a technically advanced material that can be tailored to the thermodynamics and kinetics that are needed using modeling techniques.\u0022\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBeyond the fabrication techniques, Nadler developed characterization and modeling techniques to help understand and control the fabrication process for the unique copper structures, which may also have commercial applications.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe copper precursor developed in GTRI is a significant improvement over the copper foam material that Indian Head had previously been evaluating.  Produced with a sintered powder process, the foam was fragile and non-uniform, meaning Navy scientists couldn\u0027t precisely predict reliability or how much explosive would be created in each micro-detonator.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022GTRI has been able to provide us with material that has well-controlled and well-known characteristics,\u0022 said Michael Beggans, a scientist in the Energetics Technology Department of the Indian Head Division of the Naval Surface Warfare Center.  \u0022Having this material allows us to determine the amount of explosive that can be formed in the MEMS fuze.  The size of that charge also determines the size and operation of the other components.\u0022\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe research will lead to a detonator with enhanced capabilities.   \u0022The long-term goal of the MEMS Fuze program is to produce a low-cost, highly-reliable detonator with built-in safe and arm capabilities in an extremely small package that would allow the smallest weapons in the Navy to be as safe and reliable as the largest,\u0022 Beggans explained.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EReducing the size of the fuze is part of a long-term strategy toward smarter weapons intended to reduce the risk of collateral damage.  That will be possible, in part, because hundreds of fuzes, each about a centimeter square, can be fabricated simultaneously using techniques developed by the microelectronics industry.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Today, everything is becoming smaller, consuming less power and offering more functionality,\u0022 Beggans added.  \u0022When you hear that a weapon is \u0027smart,\u0027 it\u0027s really all about the fuze.  The fuze is \u0027smart\u0027 in that it knows the exact environment that the weapon needs to be in, and detonates it at the right time.  The MEMS fuze would provide \u0027smart\u0027 functionality in medium-caliber and sub-munitions, improving results and reducing collateral damage.\u0022\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EDevelopment and implementation of the new fuze will also have environmental and safety benefits.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Practical implementation of this technology will enable the military to reduce the quantity of sensitive primary explosives in each weapon by at least two orders of magnitude,\u0022 said Gerald R. Laib, senior explosives applications scientist at Indian Head and inventor of the MEMS Fuze concept.  \u0022This development will also vastly reduce the use of toxic heavy metals and waste products, and increase the safety of weapon production by removing the need for handling bulk quantities of sensitive primary explosives.\u0022 \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe next step will be for Indian Head to integrate all the components of the fuze into the smallest possible package - and then begin producing the device in large quantities.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EA specialist in metallic and ceramic cellular materials, Nadler said the challenge of the project was creating structures porous enough to be chemically converted in a consistent way - while retaining sufficient mechanical strength to withstand processing and remain stable in finished devices.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022The ability to design things on multiple size scales at the same time is very important,\u0022 he added.  \u0022Designing materials on the nano-scale, micron-scale and even the millimeter-scale simultaneously as a system is very powerful and challenging.  When these different length scales are available, a whole new world of capabilities opens up.\u0022\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EResearch News \u0026amp; Publications Office\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nGeorgia Institute of Technology\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n75 Fifth Street, N.W., Suite 100\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nAtlanta, Georgia  30308  USA\u003C\/strong\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMedia Relations Contacts\u003C\/strong\u003E: John Toon (404-894-6986); E-mail: (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jtoon@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ejtoon@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E) or Kirk Englehardt (404-407-7280); E-mail: (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:kirk.englehardt@gtri.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ekirk.englehardt@gtri.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E) or Abby Vogel (404-385-3364); E-mail: (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:avogel@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Eavogel@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E).\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ETechnical Contact\u003C\/strong\u003E: Jason Nadler (404-407-6104); E-mail: (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jason.nadler@gtri.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ejason.nadler@gtri.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E).\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWriter\u003C\/strong\u003E: John Toon\n\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Tiny copper structures could play key role in next generation of munitions"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"Tiny copper structures with pores at both the nanometer and micron size scales could play a key role in the next generation of detonators used to improve the reliability, reduce the size and lower the cost of certain military munitions.","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Copper precursor key to future military munitions"}],"uid":"27303","created_gmt":"2007-12-18 01:00:00","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:03:24","author":"John Toon","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2007-12-18T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2007-12-18T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"71576":{"id":"71576","type":"image","title":"Microscope image of material","body":null,"created":"1449177386","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:16:26","changed":"1475894639","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:43:59"},"71577":{"id":"71577","type":"image","title":"Materials to make copper structures","body":null,"created":"1449177386","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:16:26","changed":"1475894639","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:43:59"},"71578":{"id":"71578","type":"image","title":"Copper material","body":null,"created":"1449177386","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:16:26","changed":"1475894639","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:43:59"}},"media_ids":["71576","71577","71578"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.gtri.gatech.edu\/","title":"Georgia Tech Research Institute"}],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"141","name":"Chemistry and Chemical Engineering"},{"id":"145","name":"Engineering"},{"id":"147","name":"Military Technology"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"7493","name":"copper"},{"id":"7523","name":"detonator"},{"id":"7524","name":"micro-detonator"},{"id":"7525","name":"munition"},{"id":"7425","name":"nanometer"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cstrong\u003EJohn Toon\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EResearch News \u0026amp; Publications Office\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.gatech.edu\/contact\/index.html?id=jt7\u0022\u003EContact John Toon\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E404-894-6986\u003C\/strong\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jtoon@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}