USA As Represented by Secretary of the Navy

Alliant Techsystems Inc.

John E Delaney, Jr

Michael Gerard Crilly

Richard Brad Cragun

Richard C Anderson

Robert D Ciccarelli

Charles B Zisette

An assembly and process designed to neutralize a landmine having a case loaded with an explosive charge set to detonate upon actuation. The assembly includes a housing provided with a chamber loaded with a solid propellant. One of the ends of the housing is exposed to permit the loaded propellant to communicate the chamber with the outside atmosphere. The propellant is remotely ignitable via a remotely operable igniter. The first end of said housing is constructed and arranged and the solid propellant is present in an amount and composition suitable for generating, upon ignition of the solid propellant, a plume sufficient in burn time and temperature both to penetrate through the case of the landmine positioned in spaced relation to the first end and to initiate controlled burning of the explosive charge of the landmine so that detonation of the explosive charge is either avoided or reduced due to pre-detonation partial consumption of the explosive charge by burning.

Assembly and process for controlled burning of landmine without detonation

An abstract is provided which is capable of clearing encased explosives s as land mines. This apparatus combines a shaped charge jet with a plate penetrator. A depression is formed in a column of a first explosive material. The depression is provided with a metal liner such that detonation of the first explosive material forms a shaped charge jet. The shaped charge jet passes through a hole in a plate penetrator and exits the device without detonating a second explosive material. The shaped charge jet strikes the ground and imparts kinetic energy. As the energy in the shaped charge jet is consumed, the second explosive material detonates and drives the plate penetrator to supersonic velocities. Since shaped charge jet velocity exceeds the detonation velocity of the second explosive material, the shaped charge jet clears a path ahead of the plate penetrator. This results in higher velocity when the plate penetrator impacts the encased explosive, and consequently a greater chance of inducing explosion and neutralization.

Apparatus for clearing mines

Growing community of inventors

Alexandria, VA, United States of America

John E Delaney, Jr