Joint DOD/DOE Munitions / Munitions Lifecycle Technologies
Abstract
Munitions lifecycle technologies, including stockpile aging, surveillance, demilitarization, and disposal, are developed under the auspices of the Joint Department of Defense (DoD)/ Department of Energy (DOE) Munitions Technology Development Program (JMP) . The Department has a large and growing inventory of conventional munitions in its demilitarization stockpile. Currently, the stockpile includes more than 400,000 tons and is expanding by about 70,000-100,000 tons per year. As the long-term focus for demilitarization and disposal within the DoD turns from open-burn (OB) and open-detonation (OD) to resource recycle and recovery, alternative technologies are required to turn waste materials into useful products. The technologies developed in this portion of the JMP enhance DoD capabilities to field safe, cost-effective processes for disposal, resource recovery, and reutilization of munitions and munitions components. For an aged weapon stockpile that has not reached end of useful life, reliability and surety may change with time because of age-related degradation of constituent materials. Existing stockpile assessment methods typically focus on addressing materials aging and reliability problems after they occur, rather than on anticipating and avoiding future problems or failure mechanisms. The predictive materials aging and reliability portion of the JMP is focused on improving our ability to understand, measure, predict, and mitigate safety and reliability problems caused by materials aging and possible degradation in weapons systems. Together with complementary demilitarization technologies, this focus provides a base of scientific knowledge and understanding that enhances the Department's ability to efficiently support the late phases of weapon lifecycle.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Accomplishment
- Publication Date
- Oct 01, 2011
- Source ID
- d015586201d0953b5184fe29945496ee