GALCIT Colloquium

Multiple components developed, produced and maintained by the Explosive Technologies Group (ETG) at Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), in support of the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) mission, contain pyrotechnic materials.  Motivation to develop a fundamental, science-based model of device performance is driving numerous research efforts across all aspects of device operation.  Through this effort, a collaborative program between experimentalists in the ETG and model developers in SNL Engineering Sciences are studying critical multiphase phenomena influencing ignition, combustion and output. This talk will provide an overview of several recent research efforts within the context of device operation.   Understanding pyrotechnic ignition began by characterizing pyrotechnic thermal decomposition in a global kinetics model.  Current efforts are focused on quantifying the kinetics of oxygen evolution and metal oxidation, and particle length scale effects.  Understanding pyrotechnic combustion behavior began by characterizing burn regimes and the development of a convective combustion model accounting for bulk powder bed porous flow. Understanding device output has required discrete experiments in simplified device geometries and specific subcomponents to unravel interdependent effects.  Together the collaborative experiments and model development continue to work towards the common goal of establishing a new technical basis for science-based component operation, design, performance and long-term surveillance.

Sandia National Laboratories is a multi-mission laboratory managed and operated by Sandia Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Lockheed Martin Corporation, for the U.S. Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration under contract DE-AC04-94AL85000