Behavior of Large Quantities of Hazard Division 1. 2 Ammunition in Fires

At present, the quantity-distance (Q-D) requirements for open storage of Hazard Division (HD) 1.2 ammunition are different in the U.S., the United Kingdom (UK), and NATO. In 1989, NATO AC/258 (Group of Experts on the Safety Aspects of Transportation and Storage of Military Ammunition and Explosives) began an effort to review HD 1.2 Q-D requirements with the objective of reconciling the different approaches. However, test data to support the effort were very limited at that time. Therefore, it was recommended that a series of bonfire tests be conducted to characterize the hazards produced by fires involving large stacks of HD 1.2 items. In order to support this effort, the U. S. Department of Defense Explosives Safety Board (DDESB) and the UK Explosives Storage and Transport Committee (ESTC) jointly sponsored a series of bonfire tests using 105mm artillery cartridges and 8 1mm mortar cartridges. A total of twelve tests were conducted during the period May 1991 through September 1995. This report describes the test program, test and analysis methodologies, and summarizes the results of the tests.Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Div VA is the author of 'Behavior of Large Quantities of Hazard Division 1. 2 Ammunition in Fires', published 1999 under ISBN 9781423545187 and ISBN 1423545184.