AXPRO Newsletter 7 - Colorado School of Mines...explosive’s minor degree program at the Colorado...

AXPRO Newsletter Issue 7 April 2019

Copyright © 2019 Colorado School of Mines/AXPRO All Rights Reserved [Type text ] [Type text ]

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The Advanced Explosive Processing Research Group (AXPRO) enjoyed a very successful Fall and Spring 2018-2019 semesters, and would like to share some of its accomplishments. AXPRO is looking forward to future research, industry support, academic achievements, and student involvement for Fall 2019.

Education

This spring semester 2019, Dr. Petr was asked to again teach the MNGN 444 class, which is part of the explosive’s minor degree program at the Colorado School of Mines. This course gives CSM students a unique opportunity to learn hands-on about explosive safety, products, properties, applications, and use. The class was separated into five groups and given projects from industry. One group was tasked to provide overpressure and vibration analysis for the upcoming Edgar Mine shock tube facility. This project involved developing safe environmental parameters for a shock tube (gas exploder) at Edgar mine. The results will be used to guide the research team lead by Dr. Brune from the Mining Engineering Department at CSM to study the environmental impact of overpressure and vibration from the gas explosion. Three groups were tasked with exploring the most effective way to use solid explosives to simulate new gas exploders used by the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) for avalanche mitigation at different charge orientations; horizontal, vertical, and perpendicular to the hillslope. The last group evaluated the effectiveness of using conical shaped charges to blast large rock boulders as part of the secondary blasting procedure used by Henderson Mine. Shane Robinson (pictured below), an employee at Henderson Mine came to the ERL to teach the students how to build and place the charges. All five groups completed successful tests and are preparing to present their findings during the final week of the semester.

Left: Mr. Shane Robinson teaches students how to tie detonating cord. Middle: Students preparing cone

charges. Right: Steel witness plate results.

AXPRO NEWSLETTER ISSUE 7: APRIL 2019



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Top: Cone charges on boulders. Middle: Post blast fragmentation results. Bottom: High-speed imaging

of a boulder and cone detonation.

During the semester, the Copper Mountain ski area also asked the class for help in designing windows for their new ski patrol hut that would be able to withstand the effects of nearby avalanche blasting (see below). The students developed many creative solutions including curved windows, blast resistant windows, and protective window coverings.



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The MNGN 444 and MNGN 333 classes are very popular because they provide a platform from which students are able to apply for summer internship positions at national laboratories. This semester, several students received offers from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) as well as other industries within the field of energetic (explosive) materials.

This year, AXPRO also continued our relationship with Steve Beggs and PAE National Security Solutions. PAE National Security Solutions provides support of counter threat solutions including government contracts as well as assisting the military and law enforcement with services related to counter threat. This support covers forensics, homemade explosive devices, IEDs, chemical and biological weapons, and more. Steve Beggs is a retired ATF agent who has been with PAE National Security Solutions since 2014. He came to AXPRO and the Explosive Research Laboratory (ERL) to help support a senior project with student Jack Whelan at Thunder Ridge High School. The aim of this project was to help high school students explore career options in post blast forensic investigation. Steve joined AXPRO in simulating a homemade explosive blast at the ERL which was used to teach students how to investigate the post-blast scene.



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High school student Jack Whelan, his father Jim Whelan, and Steve Beggs at the ERL

AXPRO is looking forward to continuing this partnership with Steve Beggs and PAE National Security Solutions to conduct future research and training related to counter terrorism threat.

The ERL has been expanded with a new test slope laboratory for avalanche mitigation. This new laboratory will be used for training exercises for CDOT employees using gas exploders, case-charges, and hand-charges. It also has the capability to measure pressure, detonation velocity, and capture high speed imaging results. The 35° slope is located at 8,000 ft (2,400 m) above sea level and therefore provides a unique opportunity to study snow avalanche triggering at high altitude topography.

Drone images of AXPRO’s new test slope laboratory for avalanche mitigation at ERL before and during

blasting taken by Pat Klein

Every year, the AXPRO Team educates hundreds of CDOT employees, including both new and veterans, on various avalanche mitigation methods and procedures. A general 2-day course in offered in both Durango, Poncha Springs, Colorado and Loveland Ski Area, while the more practical courses in hand-charges, case-charges, rock fragmentation, and unexploded ordnance (UXO) are taught at the ERL in Idaho Springs, Colorado. A new 8-hour practical training course on gas exploders will also be provided this upcoming year.

In addition to providing the state-certified explosives training program, for the past ten years, we have also been providing courses for the Practical Explosives Training School (PETS) for industry workers, professionals, and explosive handlers who are looking to obtain or renew their explosives permit. AXPRO has two new explosives training programs with Freeport-McMoRan’s Henderson Mine and the National Forest Service. Employees at the Henderson Mine receive 8-hours training in safe explosives-handling for new underground miners and 8-hours avalanche mitigation training. In addition to advance hands on practical training for new miners the AXPRO Team has developed a new 8-hour training program at the ERL for secondary blasting using cone charges.

National Forest Service employees were taught about the various explosive applications for park services, including tree removal (shown below). Students enjoyed the hands-on experience and opportunity to learn new techniques from each other. Visitors from Los Alamos National Laboratory, Drs. Travis Perry and Johnathan Mace, came with a redesigned charge that reduced the required weight of explosives by more than 65%. AXPRO is currently working with the Forest Service to implement this new charge design. AXPRO is also working to develop an additional 8-hour training course on the AutoStem technology for secondary blasting in collaboration with the Forest Service and local distributors in Colorado Springs. AXPRO is also in the process of developing a PETS training course for the Division of Occupational Safety and Health of the Washington Department of Labor and Industry.



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National Forest and Park Services explosive tree removal exercise at the ERL, Idaho Springs

AXPRO will be offering a new short course “The Chemistry of Pyrotechnics” with Dr. Jackson Shaver, the director of Pyrotechnics at SDI/DAICEL Mesa Arizona. This course will take place August 12-16, 2019, and will teach safety, regulations, applications, and manufacturing to industry professionals. The course will include classroom learning and practical, hands-on training at the ERL. To register for this course, please visit http://www.tci-training.com/event/chemistry-of-pyrotechnics-ii-intermediate-course/.

For more information on these programs please visit our website: www.axpro.mines.edu-PETStraining. For specialized government and private company interests AXPRO is able to develop new, targeted training programs for new employees or help to review and implement State and Federal explosive regulations through 8 or 16-hour training courses at the ERL or their local facilities.

The AXPRO team offered a short course in partnership with the Missouri University of Science and Technology (MS&T). This was a four-day course that was taught in March 2019, during Mines’ Spring Break. Graduate students from MS&T visited the Colorado School of Mines during spring break to gain practical knowledge and experience from the AXPRO Team.

This course was taught by Dr. Vilem Petr and guest Mr. Frank Mazella. Mr. Mazella has been the Learning Products Manager for Vision Research since 2002 and outlined the capabilities of the software and new camera technologies. Vision Research is a worldwide leader in high-speed digital imaging systems, and their Phantom cameras have continually been on the leading edge of high-speed imaging technology. During this course, students worked one-on-one with instructors on specific technical problems of high-speed imagery and camera setups to teach students from MS&T the principles of the Schlieren method and shadow graph technique for explosive applications. The class was divided into small groups and led by AXPRO instructors Lea Davis and Michael Maestas, who supervised and assisted the students to safely conduct experiments and operate the cameras in the AXPRO blast chamber. This marks the fourth year of our collaboration with MS&T for practical, hands-on training for their students at the Colorado School of Mines.



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Experiments conducted during the short course including Schlieren NONEL shock tube experiments and

shadow graph images of Mach stem reflection on a 40° slope

Dr. Paul Worsey will be retiring in Fall 2019, and the AXPRO Team wishes him well and hopes to continue our collaboration with MS&T that Dr. Worsey helped us establish. The AXPRO team is excited to share the progress of the new graduate program in Materials Science, the Materials Science Graduate Program with an emphasis in Energetic Materials (Explosives). This special emphasis in Energetic Materials (Explosives) is now offered to students pursuing Ph.D. and M.S. degrees in Materials Science. Professional students are currently being recruited from U.S. National Laboratories, government agencies, and private-sector companies. We are excited to announce that master’s student Michael Maestas from Los Alamos will graduate in Spring 2019 and return to the national lab to continue his career. AXPRO is actively looking for qualified candidate to apply for masters, PhD, or post-doctoral research at Colorado School of Mines with an emphasis in energetic (explosive) materials. We are specifically seeking students with interests in 3D printing, additive manufacturing, explosive characterization, detonation and shock wave physics, and instrumentation and analysis with both experimental and numerical capabilities. Graduate students are closely mentored by subject-matter experts and industry professionals and will be allowed the unique opportunity to investigate material and material properties under dynamic loading, energetic materials undergoing detonation, high-fidelity technology, post-detonation phenomena, and material behavior under large-rate deformation and strain. Please click this link if you are interested in finding out more.

AXPRO Giving The AXPRO team is pleased to be continuing its new industry and government partnership program, AXPRO's Annual Constituent Collaboration Engineering Student Success (ACCESS) program. AXPRO-ACCESS is designed to improve relationships between industry and the Advanced Explosives Processing Research Group (AXPRO). AXPRO leverages existing explosives engineering synergy across campus to meet the needs of industry via mutually beneficial partnership programs involving access to faculty, students, and state of the art research facilities. The AXPRO-ACCESS program is the conduit for academia and industry to exchange ideas and establish longstanding partnerships. The new Energetic (Explosives) Engineering program will provide the next generation of explosives engineers for industry and government agencies. It is essential that AXPRO faculty and staff are exposed to current industry projects to ensure that they incorporate current industry problems into our Explosives Engineering curriculum. Industry support and engagement with AXPRO-ACCESS is critical in maintaining and growing the pipeline of high-quality explosives engineers for industry as well. Please visit our website to learn more about AXPRO-ACCESS: AXPRO-ACCESS



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Visits and Collaborations Several researchers from Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Travis Peery, Jonathan Mace, Tariq Aslam, and Terry Salyer, visited the Colorado School of Mines and gave lectures to the research team on detonation physics. They also collaborated with AXPRO on a new idea using a flexible, linear charge to improve current tree removal methods. AXPRO is continuing to work with LANL. Eduardo Lozano, a doctoral candidate and AXPRO team member, is currently working with LANL on numerical modeling and instrumentation this semester. The Colorado School of Mines and the AXPRO team also welcomed multiple researchers from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) including Dr. Walter Nederbragt, Andrew Furmidge, Dr. Robert Maxwell, and Dr. Kyle T. Sullivan. During their visit Dr. Nederbragt and his team were introduced to the range of research capabilities and experience of the AXPRO team and are hopeful for future collaboration. CSM arranged a poster session for Drs. Maxwell and Sullivan during their visit where they learned more about AXPRO’s students, instrumentation, and capabilities. This visit also introduced Dr. Sullivan to AXPRO team member Lea Davis, who later accepted an internship position with Dr. Sullivan at LLNL for the summer.

Demonstrating pressure gauge measurements in the ERL with LLNL visitors

Research Shock Wave Characterization through PMMA Material This summer, AXPRO will begin a research project in conjunction with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) to develop a testing method using a combination of the Schlieren method and ultra-high-speed imaging with laser illumination to effectively characterize the shock wave front propagation from an explosive PETN charge inside a cylindrical disk of PMMA material. AXPRO is excited to begin this project and is hopeful to continue this partnership with LLNL. This project is the start of a multi-year collaboration with LLNL and will give students the opportunity to advance their degree at the Colorado School of Mines as well as gain practical working experience and potential career opportunities at LLNL in Livermore, California. Pressure Wave Characterization for Industry Cleaning AXPRO has been conducting research with the Electrical Power Research Institute (EPRI) to characterize the detonation and shockwave physics associated with the propagation of an explosive gas mixture, “Bang&Clean®” technology (by General Electrics for the USA), which is currently used for slag removal in boilers at power plants. The bag(s) is filled with an explosive gas mixture and ignited. The resulting shock



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wave(s) and boiler tube vibrations remove the slag that is deposited on their surface. This research endeavors to provide guidance to the electrical power industry on tube failure risk and safety distances required for pressure-wave cleaning operations through experimental measurements, analytical and theoretical calculations, and metallographic analysis. The blast parameters of the pressure wave process were experimentally measured and analyzed at the Explosives Research Laboratory using piezoelectric sensors and high-speed imaging cameras VEO 710s. Almost 50 experimental tests were preformed and analyzed to better understand safety distances for different types of blasts. In addition, several tests were performed using dynamite and detonating cord to provide validation between solid explosives and gas explosives.

Top: Experimental setup and testing of “Bang&Clean®” technology at ERL. Bottom: Inverted high-speed image of successful detonation of ethane-oxygen mix in bag.

Evaluation of Gas Exploders for Avalanche Control The AXPRO team is currently conducting experimental and numerical studies of the O’BellX Gas Pressure System for Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) and Transportation Avalanche Research Pool (TARP). The TARP is a partnership of transportation agencies to further cooperation and research, development, and evaluation of avalanche mitigation equipment and methodology to improve the safety and efficiency of highway transportation in mountain corridors. The TARP was established though a US DOT State Planning and Research pooled fund program and is currently administrated by the CDOT. The main goal is to study the pressure-wave output created by these types of avalanche control devices and compare them to solid explosives. In Spring 2019 AXPRO completed multiple experiments at the new avalanche mitigation test slope at the ERL using high explosives and blasting agents as well as small scale tests in the AXPRO Blast Chamber (shown below) to validate the overpressure characterization and signature for snow avalanche triggering.



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Top: Blast Chamber set-up for model O’BellX testing. Bottom: Shadowgraph high-speed imaging results.

A full scale O’BellX will be installed this summer and tested at the avalanche mitigation test slope at the ERL using blast pressure gauges, seismographs, and high-speed imaging. In addition, three dimensional numerical simulations will be conducted and validated using the experimental data. The numerical studies will provide insight about the influence of the topography in the blast propagation. The results of this research will assist CDOT with the implementation of these type of technologies in future locations. These tests will support preliminary results using shadow graph imaging methods to study shock wave propagation in the air and reflection from the sloped surface. This helped us to better understand the area of influence of the avalanche triggering technology. AXPRO also conducted similar experiments for cylindrical case charges (3C) to validate the theory of Mach stem formation with respect to slope angle and location of the charge.

Shadowgraph images of shock tube reflection at varying angles

Students Lea Davis Undergraduate Research Assistant Lea Davis is the newest AXPRO Research Group Member and is currently a senior from the Chemical Engineering Department at Colorado School of Mines. Lea is taking the Explosives Engineering I and II classes and is enjoying working with Dr. Petr and the AXPRO Team. Lea is working on the Henderson Mine team project using conical shaped charges designed for secondary blasting in Henderson Mine. With AXPRO, Lea has been working on co-authoring the publications previously mentioned. Lea has also worked alongside Dr. Petr as a teaching assistant for the PETS training and MS&T classes. This summer she will be a student intern under Dr. Kyle Sullivan with the Lawrence Livermore Research Laboratory



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(LLNL) in Livermore, California. She will be working with the lab on 3D printing pyrotechnic materials and is excited for the opportunity to further her experience in the field of explosives research. Lea would like to bring these new skills back to the Colorado School of Mines and potentially continue with a graduate degree. In Fall 2019, Lea will be continuing as a part-time student and research assistant with the AXPRO Team, where she will focus her work with Dr. Shridar Seetharaman on 3D printing of energetic materials. Lea is looking forward to pursuing this new interdisciplinary career in the emerging science and technology area of 3D printing, thereby utilizing her skills from chemical engineering and energetic materials.

Lea Davis

Eduardo Lozano’s Internship at Los Alamos National Laboratory Last December, Eduardo completed his dissertation proposal defense where he presented to the Committee the latest achievements to date as well as future steps for the development of a reactive burn detonation model for non-homogenous energetic materials such as ANFO. Eduardo spent this Spring semester as a Graduate Research Assistant at Los Alamos National Laboratory. He worked with Dr. Tariq Aslam (T-1 Group) on specialized computational techniques for hyperbolic systems of conservation laws. These techniques can be directly applied to shock and detonation problems governed by the equations of Detonation Shock Dynamics (DSD) or Geometrical Shock Dynamics (GSD). Eduardo will return to Colorado School of Mines in May 2019 where he will continue working on the multiple educational and research tasks for AXPRO. This internship was important for Eduardo to advance his skills and knowledge in numerical modeling and enable him to publish several additional conference papers and as part of his PhD thesis. His ongoing research work will be presented in two separate international conferences this year: the 17th International Conference on Numerical Combustion in Aachen, Germany; and the 21st APS Shock Compression of Condensed Matter in Portland, Oregon. The first paper is focused on the numerical techniques involved in multimaterial reactive flow simulations for non-ideal explosives. The second paper outlined his studies on the influence of different water Equations of State for high-pressure shock and detonation phenomena.



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Eduardo at the Bradbury Science Museum (Los Alamos, New Mexico) Michael Maestas’ Graduate Thesis Michael came to the AXPRO Team in Fall 2018 and started working on several research projects where he advanced his studies on several experimental instrumentation techniques and developed MatLab subroutines for data analysis and validation. Michael also advanced his skills in numerical modeling when he was able to study air blast measurements and air blast pressure from industrial cleaning. He also used his research in Ethane-Oxygen gas explosions for industrial cleaning specifically related to comparing the detonation physics of solid explosives with gas explosives through experimental testing and numerical modeling for his Master’s Thesis. He presented his thesis defense in April 2019 to the Mechanical Engineering department at the Colorado School of Mines. Michael also worked as a teaching assistant to the MNGN 444 class and taught the students MatLab data analysis techniques. The students used his MatLab codes to analyze their project data results from oscilloscope measurements and develop engineering results and graphs. Michael is continuing work with AXPRO as he finishes his final semester of his Master's degree. This summer he will be going to work at the Los Alamos National Laboratory as part of the E-1 group to continue pursuing his interests in Explosives and Mechanical Engineering. The AXPRO Team would like to wish Michael the best in his future endeavors and hope that he will consider returning for a PhD.

Michael Maestas

Collaborators Dr. Sridhar Seetharaman, a professor in the Materials and Metallurgical Engineering department and the Associate VP for Research at the Colorado School of Mines, collaborates in areas related to energetic materials manufacturing and characterization. He recently joined Mines from the US Department of Energy (DOE), where he was a Senior Technology Advisor with Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE). Prior to that he was the Royal Academy Chair for Low C Technologies and Director of Materials at the HMV Catapult in the UK, and before that the POSCO Chair at Carnegie Mellon University. His interests span to multi-scale modeling and machine learning based modeling of kinetic phenomena in materials.



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Dr. Sridhar Seetharaman

Publications The AXPRO Team submitted the following papers that are currently in the review process: "Cylindrical Case Charge (3C) For Artificially Triggering Avalanches Around Mountains, Roads, and Slopes” in the Cold Regions Snow Science Journal and “Experimental Investigations into the Safety Distance for Ethane-Oxygen Gas Explosions Applied to Industrial Cleaning” in the FragBlast Journal. AXPRO is also in the final stages of writing one additional paper “Characterization of Explosive Ethane Mix” for the Propellants, Pyrotechnics, Explosives Journal.

Conferences

AXPRO Team members will be attending the 17th International Conference on Numerical Combustion in Aachen, Germany and presenting a paper focused on the numerical techniques involved in multimaterial reactive flow simulations for non-ideal explosives and the 21st APS Shock Compression of Condensed Matter in Portland, Oregon and presenting the paper “Comparing different water equations of state for aquarium tests” which outlines studies conducted on the influence of different water Equations of State for high-pressure shock and detonation phenomena.

AXPRO Newsletter 7 - Colorado School of Mines...explosive’s minor degree program at the Colorado...

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