Propellant Residues Deposition from Small Arms Munitions

Military live-fire training missions utilize a variety of energetic materials that are never completely consumed during firing. In February 2007, the U.S. Army Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory teamed with the Vermont National Guard at Camp Ethan Allen to conduct tests to determine th...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Walsh, Michael R., Walsh, Marianne E., Bigl, Susan R., Perron, Nancy M., Lambert, Dennis J., Hewitt, Alan D.
Other Authors: ENGINEERING RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT CENTER HANOVER NH COLD REGIONS RESEARCH AND ENGINEERING LAB
Format: Text
Language:English
Published: 2007
Subjects:
Ammunition and Explosives
*PROPELLANTS
*RESIDUES
TEST AND EVALUATION
DEPOSITION
SMALL ARMS
ENERGETIC PROPERTIES
NITROGLYCERIN
RANGES(FACILITIES)
AMMUNITION
SNOW
WEAPONS
FIRING POINTS
Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory
Online Access:http://www.dtic.mil/docs/citations/ADA472269
http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?&verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=ADA472269
Description
Summary:Military live-fire training missions utilize a variety of energetic materials that are never completely consumed during firing. In February 2007, the U.S. Army Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory teamed with the Vermont National Guard at Camp Ethan Allen to conduct tests to determine the propellant residues deposition related to the firing of small arms. Samples were collected from the snow surface at the firing points for 5.56-, 7.62-, 9-, and 12.7-mm (0.50-cal.) weapons, as well as from areas up to 40 m downrange. Six tests were conducted utilizing five weapon systems. Samples were analyzed to derive an estimate of the mass of unreacted energetics deposited from each activity. The areas sampled at the 5.56-mm firing points contained 1.8 and 1.3 mg NG (1.1% and 0.80% original mass) per round, the 7.62-mm firing point contained 1.5 mg NG and 0.0018-mg DNT (0.56% and 0.048% original mass) per round, the 9-mm firing point contained 2.1-mg NG (5.4% original mass) per round, and the 12.7-mm firing points averaged 11 mg NG (0.73% original mass) per round. These results indicate that although consumption rates for this class of ammunition are high, accumulation of energetic residues should be considered for range sustainment programs. The original document contains color images.

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