Tunable High Density Reactive Materials for Enhanced Counter Offensive Lethality

MATSYS proposes to develop high density, high energy density and high strength reactive materials to enhance the performance of reactive shaped charge liners and breaching charges. The proposed material system will use a blend of elemental powders capable of participating in an exothermic reaction. We will use high energy milling/mechanical alloying (MA) on the blend of reactive powders to prepare nanostructured composite powders that will be consolidated into a fully dense reactive composite. The degree of milling will help us to reduce the reaction initiation temperature and maximize energy release. This effort combines our unique expertise in instrumented-Hot Isostatic Pressing (HIP) with new approaches in MA of reactive powder blends to develop a new generation of tunable high density structural reactive materials. Unlike conventional steel warhead casings that provide only kinetic energy, the structural reactive materials are designed to provide the same structural support, but with the added advantage of activating highly exothermic thermo-chemical reactions upon impact with the target. As the high temperature reactions proceed to completion they release an extreme amount of thermal energy that is not provided by conventional munitions. These materials can be used to replace structurally inert materials to enhance weapon effectiveness and reduce payload.