Synthesis of New, Insensitive Energetic Materials

Advanced ordnance and propulsion systems utillize materials, such as RDX and HMX, that provide good performance but cannot meet todays more stringent safety and environmental requirements. Unfortunately, in newer compounds created to replace them, the performance falls with the sensitivity. The ORBITEC team proposes the development of new energetic materials that will be both high performance and insensitive. The Phase II work will focus on developing new compounds and synthesizing them in sufficient quantities to begin safety testing. The synthesis will involve both exploration of new compounds and producing larger quantities o existing compounds. Coupled analytical chemistry and modeling will verify the synthesis and project the potential performance of the new explosives. The option periods will further scale up the synthesis to allow more extensive testing and move the technology toward pilot plant production. The ultimate result of the Phase II STTR program will be new, insensitive explosives that will have use across a wide range of military and civilian applications.