O-004 Think Before Testing!

For a long time now experts on energetic materials and munitions have been using experimental tests to evaluate the vulnerability of such materials or munitions, or at least their sensitivity to various stimuli. Yet those tests are far from being representative of the scenarios of accidental or combat stimuli, and the interpretation of them itself sometimes needs to be treated cautiously, given the important decisions that may be made as the results of these trials, for the design of insensitive munitions.
A study of many examples, such as bullet impact and cook-off, enables a critical evaluation of those tests and suggests that they be conducted in a more scientific purpose by coupling them with mathematical modelling. It concludes by advocating international co-operation, as the recent NIMIC workshop shows the way, on modelling the tests and their experimental adaptation to the requirements of the models.