JOTP-011
5 December 2014
APPENDIX E. BREAKDOWN TEST AND CRITICAL ANALYSIS (BTCA)
c. Plastics, rubbers, foams, seals etc. should be examined for signs of degradation or uptake
of plasticizer. `O' rings should be examined for compression set and that they still meet their
specification requirements.
E.2.7.2 Chemical Tests.
a. Chemical composition, including total volatile matter and moisture content, must be
assessed to demonstrate compliance with specifications/drawings.
b. Chemical stability must be assessed for all energetic materials, although the tests used
will be material dependant. The vacuum stability test is particularly applicable for main charge
explosives. Chemical stabilizer depletion testing (to AOP-48) is applicable for nitrate-ester
propellants, with a preference for multi-temperature ageing since this gives both stabilizer content
and chemical kinetics.
E.2.7.3 Compatibility Tests.
a. Chemical/explosive compatibility between all components of construction with the
explosives they will be in communication with (both in physical contact and by gas/vapor path)
should have been assessed during material qualification and/or design of the munition. This
compatibility data shall be presented as a matrix that lists the materials, and for each explosive
declares whether there is communication or not with evidence to support the claim of compatibility
where communication is expected.
b. During BTCA, any material incompatibilities and/or migration of explosive species are
likely to become evident during inspection. Any such anomalies observed shall be noted and
assessed further to address whether the munition remains safe as defined AAS3P-1. An example
is the migration of energetic plasticizers into thermal liners in rocket motors which may render the
thermal liner incapable of fulfilling its intended design role and give rise to an unsafe situation.
E.2.7.4 Physical Properties Explosives.
a. Assessment of flow properties and particle size distribution for granular materials (such
as granular propellants and some pyrotechnic compositions), checking for coagulation of granular
materials, `slump' (particularly in propellants), bulk cracking, and surface cracking/crazing.
b. Thermal analysis methods, especially Differential Scanning Calorimetry, are useful
tools that may indicate changes in the material over time and are particularly suited to subsequent
comparison during In-Service Surveillance. They are applicable to most explosive materials,
especially pyrotechnics, since they can be performed on small samples of material.
E-3
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