Pit Fragment Facility

This facility contains two large (20 foot high by 20 foot diameter) double walled steel tubs in which experimental munitions are exploded while covered with sawdust. The sawdust is automatically screened following detonation and the resulting fragments are magnetically removed for analysis. Explosive weights up to 7 lbs. can be accommodated. Typical recovery rate of the munition is better than 95 %. Also available is a 4-foot diameter sphere for small fragmenting small munitions and an 8-foot diameter by 12-foot high water tank where non-ferrous munitions can be detonated and recovered. A computerized fragment weighing system sorts the fragments by weight and provides a detailed analysis by size and weight.