The HWAD system consists of an interface to accept singularized Improved Conventional Munitions (ICMs) and/or Bomb Live Units (BLUs) loaded manually by HWAD personnel or by an automated download workcell provided by Sandia National Labs onto an overhead conveyor system to transport these munitions into a liquid-nitrogen cryobath where they are cooled to cryogenic temperatures.
After a suitable cooldown time, the munitions are removed from the cryobath by the overhead conveyor and placed into specialized tooling in a hydraulic press. The hydraulic press cycles and fractures (accesses) the munition items so that the energetics are exposed. The cryofractured debris is discharged into a two-chute discharge system, which feeds into reusable shuttle boxes located on a second overhead conveyor. The conveyor transports the shuttle boxes to a system that picks up the shuttle box, inserts it into the retort, dumps the energetic material into the first flight of the APE-2210 RKS for incineration, and then returns the shuttle box to the overhead conveyor.
Additional HWAD facility rooms or areas, such as the control room, electrical power distribution, process air, liquid-nitrogen supply, and maintenance are used for system support functions. This cryofracture system, with munition transport fixture and tooling changes, is able to process a wide range of energetic munitions of similar size.
(Click image to enlarge)
Equipment arrangement of the cryofracture system for HWAD