Selective Emission of Light Utilizing Functionally-Graded Energetic Materials

Flares are commonly used in the defense industry as light utilizing functionally-graded energetic materials for airborne expendable countermeasure applications. However, current flare production processes are rudimentary because they limit design flexibility and incur significant start up and maintenance costs due to low annual production volume. Additive Manufacturing (AM) is a superior alternative to traditional flare casting methods because it is production-volume independent and allows control over mesoscale geometry with multiple energetic materials. During the phase I program, SAS demonstrated proof-of-concept flare AM with a printable strontium nitrate-based formulation. During the phase II program, flare pellet composition will be chosen by Navy and verified by SAS for 3D printer system compatibility via sensitivity testing, rheology analysis, and print settings development. Various printed sub-scale flare pellets will be hot-fire tested and MWIR data will be recorded to inform Navy of the IR output characteristics of the new formulations. Rocky Mountain Scientific Laboratory (RMSL) will be subcontracted for laboratory use, sensitivity testing, hot-fire testing, and Interim Hazard Classification (IHC) certification testing to allow transport of the printed pellets to Crane, IN for testing.