Environmentally Benign Energetic Time Delay Compositions: Alternatives for the U.S. Army Hand-Held Signal

摘要

Pyrotechnic delays are used to provide reproducible time intervals between energetic events. The simplicity and low cost of these chemical timers make them advantageous for inexpensive munitions such as hand grenades and signaling devices. For example, U.S. Army hand-held signals (HHS) use a pyrotechnic delay element to properly time the expulsion of illumination or smoke payloads once the rockets reach their apex. These items and other munitions use delay compositions containing chromates, perchlorates, and heavy metals. Over the last three years, our division has been working to develop environmentally benign replacement compositions for use in the U.S. Army hand- held signal. In this article, we describe the course of research throughout the program and discuss the general challenges associated with the development of new energetic time delay compositions.