Things are changing at NTS Rustburg!

Since last Fall, our Heavyweight Shock Test Facility (formerly known as DTI) has been undergoing a series of expansion efforts to add new capabilities and enhance our existing test capacity and resources. Our goal is to provide a “one stop shop” for Navy Environmental Qualification Testing.

To complement our current MIL-S-901D shock and MIL-STD-167 vibration capabilities, we have constructed new buildings to house state of the art machinery and electronic equipment to support a variety of environmental tests. Our new capabilities will be operational before May 2012.

Mil-S-901 Testing

Open House
We will be hosting an Open House / Customer Appreciation Day on Thursday, May 3rd 2012 at the new EMI Test Facility. Mark your calendar! This all day event will include tours of the facility and new test capabilities, training seminars on shock, vibration and EMI testing and a pig roast catered by The Pig’s Ear. RSVP here.

IMX-101: One of the 50 Best Inventions of 2010

Photo credit Timothy Rider

Philip Samuels, chemical engineer (left) and Anthony Di Stasio, lead project officer (right), both members of the Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center, look at seven different fuze plugs designed to accommodate the IMX-101-loaded M795 155mm projectile.

National Ordnance and Ballistics Test Center – Camden, Arkansas

The US Army’s explosive formulation IMX-101 has been named one of “The 50 Best Inventions of 2010” by TIME Magazine. IMX-101 is part of a new family of explosives under development called Insensitive Munitions eXplosives (IMX). They are significantly more stable than conventional TNT and Composition B munition fills, making them safer for troops to transport and handle. For example, TNT typically behaves violently if subjected to an accidental stimulus, such as fire, and TNT-loaded munitions also are susceptible to enemy attack. The IMX generation of insensitive munitions are designed to maintain chemical stability when subjected to mechanical shocks, fire, and impact by shrapnel; while performing as intended when needed.

Earlier this year, the Army team at Picatinny Arsenal and the US Marine Corps approved IMX-101 as an effective replacement to TNT in the new M795 155-millimeter artillery munition. The Army also has endorsed IMX-101 as a suitable replacement for any large-caliber munitions requiring the energetic performance equivalent to TNT. That decision has the potential to revolutionize the way military ordnance is stored and transported, saving lives on and off the battlefield.

The US Army Program Management – Close Combat Systems (PM-CAS) at Picatinny Arsenal managed the Research & Development (R&D) Program to identify an effective IM fill replacement for TNT. NTS-Camden took a proactive approach by becoming involved during the R&D phase of this program. This enabled NTS to gain a thorough understanding of our customers’, and the end users, needs and requirements. During the R&D program, PM-CAS ultimately down-selected to three viable explosive fills for MIL-S-2105 Insensitive Munitions testing. NTS performed all down-select MIL-S-2105 testing for two of the three IM fills; and performed qualification testing for BAE Systems, the formulator and manufacturer of IMX-101, which was the ultimate fill of choice.

NTS provided input in the test protocols and offered advanced planning for testing schedules that suited the PM-CAS program accelerated timeline. The importance of good communication was evident during this program. By becoming involved during the R&D state of the program, NTS quickly became an integral part of the success of all customers including the explosive manufacture, load-assemble-pack facility, PM-CAS program office, and the ultimate customer – the US Solider.

article links….

http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2029497_2030613_2029816,00.html

http://science.dodlive.mil/2010/08/17/5-ways-the-new-army-explosive-will-help-our-warfighters/

NTS co-authored paper to be presented at NDIA Joint Armaments Conference

The M82 Percussion Primer is employed to initiate the propelling charges of separately loaded artillery weapon systems. Unique to the 155 mm M777 Light Weight Howitzer weapon system design is the use of a magazine assembly mounted in the breach mechanism of the howitzer in which ten M82 percussion primers are loaded. This design allows the primers to experience shock loadings associated with multiple howitzer firings. To address concerns as to the potential impact this shock environment may have on the sensitivity of the percussion primers in the Marine Corps inventory, the Expeditionary Systems Evaluation Division of NSWC Crane, in concert with National Technical Systems (NTS) Ordnance Sciences department, conducted tests to characterize the pyrotechnic shock imparted to the magazine assembly of the M777 howitzer during weapon system firings and then used this data to develop a series of laboratory tests to characterize changes in the sensitivity of the M82 Percussion Primer as a result of multiple exposures to these shock environments. This work was done in support of the Program Manager for Ammunition of the Marine Corps System Command service life accelerated age testing program. The paper “Pyrotechnic Shock Loading of the M82 Percussion Primer in the M777 Light Weight Howitzer Magazine Assembly” will be presented at the NDIA Joint Armaments Conference being held in Dallas, TX, May 17 through 20, 2010. NTS will be exhibiting in booth 521.

NTS Silicon Valley Opening New Test Laboratory

Climatic, Environmental and Dynamics Testing Capabilities Added To Portfolio of Services
NTS Silicon Valley division is adding a new custom-built Climatic, Environmental and Dynamics Product Testing Laboratory in close proximity to their existing test laboratories in Fremont and Sunnyvale, California. The new location is over 30,000 square feet, and will house a wide range of state-of-the-art testing equipment.

More details can be found in the NTS press release.

MIL-STD 810G Testing Course to be held at NTS Fullerton, CA laboratory

NTS has partnered with the Equipment Reliability Institute to offer this four day course. Aimed at individuals who will need to perform, witness or specify environmental testing in accordance with MIL-STD-810. The course will cover vibration and shock methods will be covered and the course will include a tour of the NTS Fullerton, CA test facility, where the full spectrum of MIL-STD-810 testing is conducted.

Full details and course registration information can be found at the Equipment Reliability Institute’s website.

The Latest in Pyroshock Testing Techniques

by Vesta I. Bateman, Chair, IEST Working Group DTE032

The IEST Recommended Practice on pyroshock testing has been revised and updated to reflect advances in the art of pyroshock testing and to address common problems related to data accuracy in the pyroshock community. The key changes to IEST-RP-DTE032: Pyroshock Testing Techniques are described here.

New definitions for near-field pyroshock, mid-field pyroshock, and far-field pyroshock adopted by IEST-RP-DTE032.2 are consistent with the definitions given in MIL-STD-810G, Method 517, as shown in the table and the spectra definitions below. The definitions and table values are quantified in terms of shock response spectra (SRS). The SRS, with an appropriate damping value, is the most widely used tool to analyze pyroshock data and is calculated using acceleration measurements near components and subsystems that must be qualified separately. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory will be revising NASA-STD-7003 during the coming year, and the current NASA values for near-field, mid-field, and far-field pyroshock are also shown in the table.

A near-field pyroshock test requires frequency control up to and above 10 kHz for amplitudes greater than 10,000 g. A pyrotechnically excited simulation technique is usually appropriate, although in some cases a mechanically excited simulation technique may be used.

A mid-field pyroshock test requires frequency control from 3 kHz to 10 kHz for amplitudes less than 10,000 g. A mechanically excited simulation technique other than shaker shock is usually required.

A far-field pyroshock test requires frequency control no higher than 3 kHz for amplitudes less than 1,000 g. A shaker shock or a mechanically excited simulation technique is appropriate.

via: Pyroshock Testing, Institute of Environmental Sciences and Technology

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