Gelled Water Bag Cookoff Tests
Abstract
Large tubular bags of water gel were tested as expedient barricades to provide protection against the effects of ammunition cookoff. The tests explored the feasibility of this concept for a program called Munitions Survivability Technology by the Defense Ammunition Logistics Agency. Primarily, the tests aimed to see if the bags could survive yet stop fragments from a time series of ground-exploded 105-mm high explosive (HE) projectiles. Second, the tests were used to evaluate the construction of the barricades. A six-bag (36-in diameter) and a three-bag (54-in diameter) linear pyramid barricade were constructed and subjected to four and nine rounds, respectively. The immature development state caused gel mixing and bag leakage problems, which were overcome. A single 36-in bag stopped a 105-mm fragment; however, the flow (runny gel) soon lowered the barrier height, losing protection against further cookoffs. The front wedge bag deflated and caused the incompletely restrained row above to roll down and drop the barrier height. The 54-in bags were easier to set up because there were fewer of them, but they reacted the same as the smaller bag barrier. The front ground bag deflated soon after the second shot (+6 min), and the top, unrestrained bag rolled down. Again, no 105-mm fragments got to the witness boards, but the barricade height was only about one partially deflated bag high.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 01, 2001
- Accession Number
- ADA388075
Entities
People
- John D. Sullivan
Organizations
- United States Army Research Laboratory