O-117 NATO/PfP/MD Nations' Efforts to Collaborate on Explosion Effects Testing and Modelling

Explosives (safety) testing and modeling efforts are on-going in many nations, with an emphasis that includes:

• Structural break-up and secondary debris generation
• Debris characterization (analysis of mass/number/shape distributions)
• Debris initial/impact velocities/distribution
• Debris maximum throw ranges
• Hazards characteristics

Much of this testing and the information derived from it are directly applicable to the validation of explosives safety quantity-distance (ESQD) criteria and to the development of models to predict debris generation, debris throw, and the risks posed by the debris.

At the request of NATO AC/326 Sub-groups 5 and 6, the Munitions Safety Information Analysis Center (MSIAC) coordinated and participated in a workshop in February 2006 in Brussels, Belgium, that brought together international experts in the areas of structural breakup and testing, debris collection, debris data analysis, and debris modeling. The objectives of this three-day workshop were to collectively review current and proposed debris testing and modeling work and to identify knowledge gaps in the understanding of debris characteristics and effects. A follow-on modeling working group meeting was held in August 2006, following the DoD Explosives Safety Seminar held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.

This paper will briefly address the AC326 SG 5 and 6 workshop, then will review the work accomplished by the modeling working group and the initiatives that are on-going within certain nations to improve the capability and accuracy of models to predict debris generation, debris throw, and the risks posed by the debris. The end result of much of this work is to be able to accurately and quickly determine appropriate explosives-safety quantity distances for the protection of people and structures containing people.