Chilworth Technology Acquires Large-Scale Energetic Material Testing Facility

Plainsboro, NJ, September 30, 2008 --(PR.com)-- Chilworth Technology has recently acquired extensive standard laboratory and large-scale testing facilities for hazard analysis support. Any solid, liquid, or gas can be tested for initiation sensitivity, speed of propagation, and explosiveness. The energetic materials, products, and systems test facility is located in a one-time gravel quarry some 90 miles from Chicago, Illinois and about 5 miles from the nearest town. The 100 plus acre test site is staffed by personnel with extensive experience in energetic materials and systems testing and analysis.

Typical Activities at the Test Site

The range of new services include:

- Specialized safety evaluations of operations involving propellant, pyrotechnic, and explosives manufacturing
- Flame and explosion propagation tests in energetic materials and systems
- Large-scale gas, vapor, and dust cloud testing,
- Large-scale burn, and fire tests on materials
- Safety hazards and performance characteristics evaluation of in-process and finally configured energetic materials (including large-scale testing)
- Explosives, propellants, and pyrotechnics safety and performance testing

Process Areas

Several buildings house processing equipment for remotely formulating, mixing, screening, pressing, and melt casting of energetic materials. These facilities are used to evaluate the safety hazards and performance characteristics of in-process and finally-configured energetic materials. The equipment consists of the following items:

- Vee blender to mix powders up to 150 lb size
- Grinders up to 30 lb. per hour
- Melt casting kettles up to 400 lb. capacity
- Powder air and hydraulic presses up to 75-ton force
- 300-foot long 6-inch diameter pneumatic conveying system

Testing Areas

A number of testing areas for the safety evaluation of energetic materials are available on the site. These include the following types of test areas:

- 400 ft. ballistic range
- Firing bunker up to 5 lb
- 10 ft. diameter 10 ft deep under water tank
- Open air blast test (TNT Equivalence) site up to 30 lb. size
- Fast cook-off test facility up to 450 lb
- Underground propagation test area
- Self-Acceleration Decomposition Test Facility
- 12-meter drop tower
- Slow cook-off test area

Consulting Services – In addition to having state-of-the-art laboratories and large-scale testing facilities Chilworth Technology’s process safety specialists are available to perform on-site hazard assessments, as well as conducting on-site safety and electrostatic measurements. A detailed report would then be prepared containing the observations, laboratory and on-site measurement results, their interpretations and practical suggestions to improve process safety.

Companies are invited to discuss any of their process safety concerns by contacting Chilworth Technology at 609-799-4449 or email: safety@chilworth.com.

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