The present invention relates to a process and device for chopping a body of solid explosives.
Solid explosives are used in relatively large quantities or numbers in solid rockets and engines of all kinds, such as, for example, ground-to-air, ground-to-ground and air-to-air rockets. Such rockets and engines are contained in large numbers in warehouses for storage and are to be fed for decomposing, recycling or destruction. For this, safe, ecologically clean and efficient technologies are required. The composite fuels used for solid rockets contain a high proportion of 60% to 80% of an oxidizing agent and of aluminum in powdered form within a range of 5 to 10%. As oxidizing agent, ammonium perchlorate, potassium perchlorate or ammonium nitrate is generally used. In this connection, it is to be noted that at 240.degree. C. ammonium perchlorate (NH.sub.4 ClO.sub.4) for instance gives off chlorine as a strong respiratory poison and oxygen to support combustion. In addition to this, there is the problem in the case of solid fuels that they are capable of becoming statically charged when worked on. The static charges can lead to voltages of up to 1000 V. The electrical discharges, which necessarily take place in this connection can, to be sure, not ignite the solid fuel in view of their short life, but they can, however, ignite the dust or powder produced in the event of dry working, such as sawing, grinding, etc., which dust or powder in its turn can lead to the igniting of the solid fuel. Furthermore, solid rocket fuels have high sensitivity to impact and friction.
For the disposal of ammunition and solid fuels of rockets of small range, use has been made up to now of "open air" burning for a limited time of small amounts of fuel, pursuant to exceptions granted by the competent authorities. Due to the relatively large number of solid rockets and engines as well as the large weight of monolithically cast bodies of solid fuel, "open air" burning is therefore out of the question also from an ecological standpoint. Therefore, a treatment of the solid fuels, in which reactions which represent a danger to man and environment can be excluded, must be assured.
Burning the solid rocket fuel without previously dividing it into small portions is not possible, particularly in the case of rocket engines of long-range rockets, due to the high mass of burnable substance in the total mass of the rocket.
At the present time, no technologies for the decomposing or dividing into portions of composite rocket fuels are known. This may be due, inter alia, to the fact that the decomposing/destruction of rockets or their engines has not been necessary in the recent past.
The object of the present invention therefore is to provide a process for the chopping of solid explosives and a device for carrying out the process, with which larger monolithic bodies of solid fuels, particularly composite rocket fuels, can be decomposed or divided into smaller parts.