Joint demilitarization technology test and demonstration capabilities

This paper provides a review of the two components of the Nevada Test Site (NTS) Demilitarization test and demonstration capabilities. Part one is a general discussion of the NTS and the many assets it offers to the Demilitarization community; and more specifically, a discussion of the NTS Open Burn/Open Detonation (OB/OD) test facility. The NTS Joint Demilitarization Technology (JDT) OB/OD Test Chamber is located at the X Tunnel facility which as been designed and constructed to contain and characterize the effluent from demilitarization activities. X Tunnel consists of a large test chamber capable of withstanding a 3,000 pound net explosive weight detonation or up to a static pressure of well over 100 pounds per square inch. The test chamber is fully instrumented to measure and collect gas and particulate samples as well as to monitor shock phenomenology. Part two is a discussion of the NTS Tactical Demilitarization Demonstration (TaDD) program currently planned for the Area 11 Technical Facility. This project will produce equipment that can dispose of unneeded tactical military rocket motors in a safe, environmentally-friendly, and timely fashion. The initial effort is the development of a demilitarization system for the disposal of excess Shillelagh missiles at the Anniston Army Depot. The prototype for this system will be assembled at the Area 11 facility taking advantage of the inherent infrastructure and proximity to numerous existing structures. Upon completion of testing, the prototype facility will become the test bed for future tactical disposal development activities. It is expected that the research and development techniques, prototype testing and production processes, and expertise developed during the Shillelagh disposal program will be applicable to follow-on tactical missile disposal programs, but with significant cost and schedule advantages.