Method and apparatus for containing and suppressing explosive detonations
US5884569A · kind A · utility
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Mar 24, 1997 |
| Grant date | Mar 23, 1999 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Mar 24, 2017 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY02E20/12
- WIPO fieldOther special machines
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
A method and apparatus for enclosing, controlling and suppressing the explosive destruction of munitions, including cluster-bomb munitions by detonation in an explosion chamber. The apparatus comprises a double-walled steel explosion chamber in which the of the chamber walls and access doors are filled with granular shock damping silica sand. The floor of the chamber is covered with granular shock-damping pea gravel. An array of vent pipes vents the chamber into manifolds leading to a scrubber for further cooling and environmental treatment of the gaseous combustion products. Within the chamber, plastic bags of water are suspended over the detonation. A munition to be destroyed is placed within an open-topped manganese steel fragmentation containment unit, which is then placed within the chamber under a woven steel blast mat secured to the chamber roof. The method of operation for destroying munitions, particularly cluster-bomb munitions, comprises the steps of removing the end closures of the munition, expelling the clustered array of bomblets into a plastic carrier tube, positioning the carrier tube full of bomblets within a separate open-topped steel fragmentation containment un…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.