Reactive Composite Materials for Asymmetric Shock Propagation in Multi-Functional Weapons

Corvid Technologies approach for improving munition technologies is to design an asymmetric shock propagation barrier (ASPB) with reactive composite materials (RCM) to enhance functional and lethality characteristics over traditional shock attenuation barriers. In Phase I, we teamed with Shock Transients Inc. (STI) to develop, evaluate, and fabricate a two-layer ASPB concept using MPXITM, an RCM developed by STI, and shock foam, a low-density highly compressible material. This ASPB was demonstrated, using a virtual prototype modeling (VPM) process, to allow detonation propagation of HE in only one direction and to improve performance in arena test and warhead configurations. The objective of this proposed Phase II effort is to mature the ASPB concepts developed in Phase I, with enhanced functional and lethality characteristics through the use of high-fidelity computational physics (HFCP) tools and experimental testing. We will execute a new VPM process utilizing our in-house high-performance computing resources to study, refine, and expand the concepts for specific warhead configurations. We will conduct testing to identify the RCM materials with the best performance and characterize them to improve the accuracy of the VPM process. Finally, we will fabricate prototypes of a customer defined warhead configuration for testing to demonstrate functionality and evaluate performance.