Advanced Capability Hardware & Software for X-Ray-Based Automated Arena Test Data Collection

Fragmenting warhead performance is measured using arena tests. A warhead is surrounded by thousands of 4’x8’, ½”-thick boards. Following detonation, fragments embed into these boards. A labor-intensive process now begins. Techs hand-search each board. When a fragment is found, it is extracted, cleaned, weighed, its location identified, and material type noted. It can take 30 hours and $3,000 to pick a single bundle of 48 layers. A large test can cost $500,000 in labor. ZKxKZ developed FRAG-X to greatly reduce time and expense of picking an arena test while increasing data fidelity. Our quantitative x-ray system worked extremely well in a recent man-versus-machine comparison pitting experienced DOD fragment pickers against our automated hardware/software. Results demonstrated superiority of our quantitative x-ray approach in every performance measure. We predict our PIII system will ultimately be 20X faster, reduce labor cost 20X (not percent), and find 50% more fragments than hand picking. FRAG-X is currently TRL 6/7. Proposed work will automate material handling, sharpen analytical methods, and finalize user interfaces. We will reach TRL 8/9 by the end of proposed PII. FRAG-X development receives enthusiastic support by the entire DOD arena test community (see MOU and cross-agency letters of support in proposal).