Munitions Transport and Storage Safety

Providing advice and expertise on the safe storage and transportation of munitions

MSIAC expertise in munition transport and storage safety focuses on understanding and characterising the hazards resulting from an explosion (blast, debris and fragmentation, progressive events, thermal) with the aim to minimise the risk of propagation, damage to infrastructure, and injury/death of personnel and the general public.

Specific areas of interest include:

• Understanding the nature of blast loading following the detonation of energetic materials.
• Developing fast-running tools to predict blast loads on structures.
• Monitoring the latest developments and research into blast loading characterisation, including blast testing and numerical modelling.
• Understanding how different structures and materials (steel, reinforced concrete, glass, timber) respond to the various physical effects caused by an explosion.
• Supporting the munition safety community in the development of probabilistic and deterministic methods to prevent the detrimental effects of accidental explosions (including ongoing development of NATO Quantity Distance methodologies).
• Supporting the munition safety community in documenting global munition accidents and promoting education on safe practices for transporting and storing munitions.