A high energy explosive having reduced shock sensitivity for tactical weapon platforms to increase the safety margins to the warfighter if the weapon became involved in an unplanned event on the battlefield. The high energy explosive having a reduced crystalline particle size below about 30 microns, preferably 10 microns, and coated with a thermoplastic elastomer, which is capable of being compressed into a warhead configuration and attached to a weapon. The high energy explosive having a greater than 25% reduction in shock sensitivity compared to the same crystalline energetic material without undergoing size reduction prior to being coated.

An igniter tube consisting of a combustible tube, on the inner face of which an ignition charge is deposited along the length of said combustible tube. The invention also relates to a method for producing the igniter tube.

Employing non-energetic MCPs as hosts (fuel) for the adsorption of oxidant molecules enables the intimate and molecular scale mixing of fuel and oxidizer on a level that is not commonly achievable in traditional energetic mixtures. The adsorption of the oxidants into MOF-5 resulted in increased heat released upon decomposition, which shows potential for utilization of this method as a platform to develop high-performance primary energetic materials.

An additive manufacturing process includes pressurizing and heating a slurry, flowing the pressurized heated slurry through a nozzle, and depositing the slurry in a predetermined pattern.

An additively manufactured solid fuel grain for a hybrid rocket engine having a cylindrical shape, defining a center combustion port and comprising a stack of fused layers of polymeric material suitable for hybrid rocket fuel. Each layer is formed as a plurality of fused abutting concentric beads of solidified material arrayed around the center port. An oxidizer is introduced into the solid fuel grain through the center port, with combustion occurring along the exposed surface area of the solid fuel grain center port wall. Each concentric bead possesses a surface pattern that increases the combustion surface area and when stacked forms a rifling pattern of undulations that induces oxidizer-fuel gas axial flow to improve combustion efficiency. The port wall surface pattern persists during the rocket engine's operation as the fuel phase changes from solid to gas and is ablated.

The present invention relates to the design and manufacture of an ignitable solid, where the solid is composed of an array of ignitable regions. In some examples, the array provides a three-dimensional periodic arrangement of such ignitable regions. The ignitable region can have any useful geometry and geometric arrangement within the solid, and methods of making such regions are also described herein.

A handheld tool configured to procure fuel is described. Embodiments of the fuel procurement tool include a handhold having a cutting mechanism located proximate one end of the handhold. Typically, the cutting mechanism can include at least one cutter link having a depth gauge, a top plate, and a gullet formed between the depth gauge and the top plate. The fuel procurement tool can be implemented to procure kindling from a piece of wood.

A method of producing a propellant material element, such as an electrically-operated propellant material, includes extruding a propellant material through a heated nozzle. The nozzle may be heated to a temperature that is above the boiling point of a solvent that is part of the propellant material, yet is below a decomposition temperature of the propellant material. This allows some of the solvent to be driven off during the extruding process, while still preventing initiation of an energy-creating reaction within the material. The heating of the material in the extruding process, and especially the heating of the nozzle that the material is extruded through, may be controlled to remove an amount of solvent that results in the extruded material having desirable properties.

The invention relates to an energy-releasing composite material comprising at least one nanoporous material and at least one inorganic oxidant, characterised in that said nanoporous material is a nanoporous carbon material.

The invention relates to a coating method for energetic material (12), in particular in a vacuum. The energetic material (12) is coated by chemical or physical vapor deposition. The coating material (16) is electrically conductive and/or hydrophobic or hydrophilic. The energetic material (12) is shaped as grains and/or pellets and/or is in the form of a powder.