A non-detonable source of at least one of an explosive or explosive vapor is disclosed, as well as a method of preparing the explosive or explosive vapor that includes the step of mixing the explosive with at least 50% inert material which retains the explosive vapor until heat is applied.

The present disclosure relates to methods and devices for investigating and characterizing a fragment or debris field caused by an explosion, and in particular, explosions resulting from the detonation of a cased munition. Aspects of the disclosure provide methods and devices which can be used to determine and correlate properties such as size/mass, location and velocity of fragments resulting from such a detonation.

The present disclosure is directed to methods and systems for detecting a substance in a sample gas. The methods and systems include separating the substance of interest in the sample gas, and introducing the separated sample gas into a detector. The systems and methods further include performing an analysis of the substance of interest.

A sensing system for explosives is provided. The sensor is based on a layered structure of approximately a monolayer of a fluorophore deposited onto a few nm of a transparent polymer, supported by a substrate. The fluorophores can be xanthene laser dyes, which have high quantum yields, and the polymers can be commodity materials polymethylmethacrylate and polyvinylidene difluoride. The different fluorophore/polymer combinations give different emission responses to analytes, including both signal quenching and enhancement. The pattern of responses can be used to identify the analyte. The common explosives TNT, PETN, RDX, HMX, and TATP as gas phase species can all be uniquely identified at room temperature using only the natural vapor pressure of the explosive to deliver sample to the sensor.

A testing system for a shaped charge of a perforating gun, the testing system including a housing; a casing assembly located inside the housing; a perforating gun having at least one shaped charge, the perforating gun being located within the casing assembly; a sample material located within the housing, and in direct contact with the casing assembly; a wellbore accumulator in direct contact with the casing assembly and configured to supply a first fluid, at a wellbore pressure, inside the casing assembly; and a formation accumulator in direct contact with the sample material and configured to supply a second fluid, at a formation pressure, on the sample material.

The present disclosure is directed to methods and systems for detecting a chemical substance. The methods and systems include mixing a sample of a substance of interest with an additive and then producing an adduct using an ionization source. The systems and methods further include performing a spectrometric analysis of the adduct and identifying the sample using comparative spectrometric data.

Reagents and methods are disclosed for detection of oxidizers and inorganic salts and other analytes of interest. The reagents can interact with their target analytes, especially oxidizer compositions or oxidizer-based explosives, to selectively enhance their ionization yield, interacting by chemical reaction or by forming an associative adduct which facilitates their detection. For example, the reagents can adduct with the counter-ion of the intended analyte for improved direct detection and/or react chemically via acid-base reactions to produce a new product for detection. In another aspect of the invention, reactive reagents and methods are also disclosed that facilitate indirect detection of the analyte at lower temperatures based on reduction-oxidation (redox) chemistry. These reagents are particularly useful in detecting oxidizer analytes.

A method of treating meibomian gland dysfunction is disclosed. The method includes directing RF energy to an internal portion of a meibomian gland, selectively targeting an obstruction within a duct of the meibomian gland with the applied RF energy to melt, loosen, or soften the obstruction, and expressing the obstruction from the duct of the meibomian gland. An apparatus for treating meibomian gland dysfunction is also disclosed. The apparatus comprises at least one RF electrode configured to direct RF energy to an internal portion of a meibomian gland located in an eyelid of an eye, the at least one RF electrode further configured to selectively target an obstruction within a duct of the meibomian gland with the applied RF energy to melt, loosen, or soften the obstruction. The apparatus also comprises at least one expressor configured to express the obstruction from the duct of the meibomian gland.

Embodiments of the invention disclose the determination of the actual shape of a cumulative distribution function (CDF) for an energetic composition. Sensitivity tests and historical data are configured for input into an electronic processor. An energetic determination tool is configured to determine the actual shape of the CDF. The actual shape of the CDF is output in a tangible medium.

A gas sensor system is disclosed for detection of a compound that decomposes upon exposure to a metal oxide catalyst. The gas sensor system includes a sensor which includes a microheater, and a metal oxide catalyst that covers the microheater. The gas sensor system includes a pre-concentrator upstream from the sensor that lowers the limit of the detection of a compound.