Polyurethane Foam and Sand Barriers Extend Munitions Igloo Capacity

摘要

Safe high-explosive mass-storage methods usually rely on a simple combination of earth and concrete barriers, combined with sufficient distance between loads, to avoid accidental conflagration. Established Net Explosive Weight (NEW) equivalencies and Quantity-Distance (Q-D) storage standards allow conventional 40' by 80' earth-covered magazines (or: 'igloos') a maximum of 425 pounds NEW storage per unit. With each unit separated from others by the required distances, an accidental explosion could be limited to a single magazine, without initiating other explosions nearby. However, using this storage method at Air National Guard installations is made complex by a need to co-locate with civilian aviation activities. Often, meeting Q-D safety requirements is difficult, or impossible. At the same time, it may be unworkable to keep adequate stores of ordnance items nearby to meet Guard-unit mission requirements, while maintaining adequate safety. Expanding urbanization around formerly isolated bases contributes added safety and security concerns, sometimes forcing use of inconveniently remote storage magazines to support unit mission Magazine-availability constraints objectives. Magazine- availability constraints resulting from continued downsizing of military facilities and functions might make impractical the storage of ammunition and explosives in other locations. Explosive and ordnance researchers and manufacturers encounter these identical problems and concerns. Both military and civilian facilities often need a convenient way to expand magazine storage capacity to meet schedules, lower costs, and improve efficiency. The ideal solution lay in an easily constructed blast wall system, which, when added to the interior of an igloo, shields and segregates multiple explosive loads while maintaining magazine safety at low cost.