|
Since 1976, CLEXTRAL has been developing twin screw machines specifically adapted to viscous mixtures for a wide variety of military and civilian applications : energetic materials.
Therefore, many twin screw machines have been placed in operation for applications in the pyrotechnic field (continuous mixing and then forming by extrusion ).
This mixing-extrusion process can be used for other applications bringing into play energetic products.
Twin screw extruder for energetic materials production
Advantages of CLEXTRAL twin screw extrusion for energetic materials production:
- Reduction of required surfaces, due to the low quantity of material being transformed
- Reduction of investments
- Reduction of directly involved laborœ
- Extension of eligible raw materials
- Constant quality, thanks to the continuous process and reproducibility (recording and archiving of parameters to renew the production runs of a specific product)
- Preservation of quality and safety (confinement) requirements
Safety and confinement : Major assets of twin screw extrusion for energetic materials
The major safety point of the twin screw extruder with respect to sensitive materials (explosion, self-inflammation, etc.) is above all the low quantity of material continuously implementedœ in the sleeve and the extremely short contact time (generally on the order of a minute). This short contact time is possible thanks to the unequalled mixing efficiency of the Clextral twin screw extruder.
Safety is also ensured during production by an extensive instrumentation on this type of machine (temperature control of the sleeve zone by zone – material temperature probes – material pressure probes), a special automatic control system applying the latest developments in the field and a carefully constructed extruder (precision mechanics).
Finally, the viscous mixture to be implementedœ can be degassed by carefully installing along the sleeve several openings, such as atmospheric venting pipes or vacuum degassing shafts, connected to one or more vacuum pumps.
Learn more about "energetic materials" :
The expression "energetic materials" has replaced for over 20 years the traditional designation of "powder, explosives and solid propellants for military and civilian use". This change in vocabulary didn't happen by chance, but rather concretises the importance taken by the aspect "materials" over the last decades.
Even though the use of energetic materials goes back to more than a century BC, these materials remain not well known to the public, probably because this science is practically not taught.
In short, energetic materials will be said to be materials which produce a large quantity of hot gases, without oxygen present in the air, in a controlled manner, by intramolecular oxidation (nitrocellulose), intermolecular oxidation (black powder, composite propellants, etc.) or by the decomposition of a metastable body (aziding).
The use of energetic materials is fully justified when high power is needed for a short time (weapons, alert or safety systems).
|
|
