L-047 IM TESTING Volume V: A Synopsis of the NIMIC Workshops on IM Testing held 20-23 May 1998 at NATO HQ, Brussels, Belgium and 17-21 November 1997 at DSTO, Adelaide, Australia

July 1998

NIMIC Staff

In 1997 NIMIC held a Workshop on IM Testing the aim of which was "to write guidance on full-scale IM testing in order to improve confidence in and achieve international acceptability and broader applicability of test results". This Workshop addressed the stimuli associated with shock, impact and thermal effects and was held in 2 phases. Phase 1 addressed the procedures for Slow and Fast Heating and Sympathetic Reaction (NATO HQ, May 1997) while Phase 2 addressed test procedures for Bullet Impact, Fragment Impact, Spall and Shaped Charge Jet Impact (Australia, November 1997). The plan for both phases was to divide the objectives of the Workshop into key topic areas and assign working groups, composed of people with the relevant expertise, to address these specific areas.

The key areas were as follows:
Developing a Testing Protocol
Threat and Hazard Assessment (THA)
Small-scale Testing Data and its Role in IM Assessment
Standardizing Full-scale Test Methods
Response Descriptors
Selection of "Best" Full-scale Test Procedures

Prior to both Phases of the Workshop a number of technical documents were prepared by NIMIC to provide participants with essential background information on the subject areas for discussion. These documents, along with a short description of their contents, are given in the list of references.