Laser Initiation of Explosives

Schwartz Electro-Optics, Inc. (SEO) is pleased to propose a Phase I study program for Laser Initiated Explosives (LIE) with Center for Research and Education in Optics and Lasers (CREOL) associated with the University of Central Florida. It is recognized by the Navy that the unexploded ordnance has become a growing issue. For example, in Laos, U.S. armed forces dropped several hundred tons of ordnance, the unexploded ordnance is being removed now at a substantial cost. Also, millions of anti-personnel mines were deployed due to low cost ($5/mine) during the Korean and Vietnam conflicts, however, the cost of removing a mine is several times the cost of the mine. The laser induced thermal decomposition and simultaneous shock initiation of commonly used plastic explosives with HMX, RDX, and TNT bases with and without covering metal plates provides an innovative approach for removing unexploded ordnance. Dr. Aravinda Kar has established Laser-Aided Manufacturing and Materials Processing (LAMMP) laboratory at CREOL and has been working on interactions of high energy laser beams and matter for the past several years. In the LAMMP laboratory, several lasers are available for the investigation. Approaches for remote initiation of explosives using high energy laser beam transmiited through atmosphere and optical fibers will be evaluated by the SEO and CREOL team.