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    Ballistic Simulator Bunker fabricated at Yuma Test Center

    Ballistic Simulator Bunker fabricated at Yuma Test Center

    Photo By Ana Henderson | “The fabricators, welders, everybody that you see here, pitched in,” remarked...... read more read more

    YUMA PROVING GROUND, ARIZONA, UNITED STATES

    06.20.2024

    Story by Ana Henderson 

    U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground

    It took months of work, thousands of pounds of steel and more than a dozen welders and machinist to make the vision of engineer Diep Ho become a reality: a steel bunker to contain the aftermath of firing a propelling charge.

    The Ballistic Simulator (BSIM) Bunker is a non-permanent structure of steel reinforced with concrete blocks enclosing a ballistic simulator. The Machine Shop team at Yuma Test Center (YTC) recently fabricated the enclosure, a first at YTC.

    Munitions and Weapons Test Officer Daniel McCloud explains what happens within those armorer walls provides the customers with vital information.

    “What the customer gets is a detailed visual representation of what’s going on inside of that simulated chamber.”

    The ballistic simulator has a clear acrylic tube which models the chamber of a weapon system. As it fires high-speed cameras capture 30,000 frames per second.

    “You get the first seven to 10,000 psi of what’s going on before the explosion happens,” explained McCloud. Adding, “What they are interested in is that very minute time between when the primer ignites until it transfers its energy to the charges inside there. The only way you can get that is through high-speed video.”

    To capture video in a safe controlled environment Munitions and Weapons Test Officer Ho, known for his ingenious inventions, designed the bunker. It’s equipped with peepholes for high-speed cameras, wiring for data collecting instrumentation, deflection panels that can withstand the pressure of munition firing and contain the remnants from the acrylic tube that shatters after each firing, lighting, and ventilation.
    Ho noted, “We had to design the bunker to contain all the unburnt propellent and broken acrylic."

    He enlisted the help of the trusted Machine Shop team which is extremely skilled and regularly fabricates bombproofs, bunkers, blast shields and catch boxes. They used armored plate steel that can support impacts. If the steel used were laid side by side, Ho said it would be a mile long.

    Lead welder on the project, Fernando Godinez, said the most challenging part was the doors and hinges which Godinez made from steel. “You got to have everything balanced.” He estimates each door weighs about 600 pounds.

    Ho explained, “We had to build it so we can open and close it. All the pressure inside can push it out. So, we had to figure out how to hold it all together.”

    The team fabricated the pieces in the Welding Shop then transported them to the test site for assembly. They setup the steel bunker on top of a base comprised of leftover unusable concrete target panels laid into place with the help of support services personnel.

    “The floor part is two pieces, the walls are different pieces, the roof is three pieces, all the framing comes separate,” explained Godinez.
    Ho also designed the table holding the ballistic simulator. Pablo Villalobos who helped source all the material estimates it weighs 10,000 pounds on its own.

    The bunker is unpainted which gives it a rustic industrial look because the heat from firing would melt the paint and cause toxic fumes.
    Another unique detail about this non-permanent structure is that it was built with reclaimed steel sourced from federal agencies through a reutilization service —slicing the price tag on the project. Ho insured he had an inventory of material available and used only that to fabricate the bunker.

    “We looked for material first then we deigned based on what we had to design the bunker.” Meaning the material was not uniform, “We did a lot of fabrication, we cut this, cut that. That’s the hard thing. We built with what we had.”

    The team was brought together at the test site to view their work after months of working in separate facilities housing the Machine Shop and welding department.

    “The fabricators, welders, everybody that you see here, pitched in,” remarked Villalobos.

    Greg Branch and Mathew Keddy, who collaborated for months with Ho on the table and made many modifications to the safety latches said respectively, “Glad it’s done, glad it works,” and “It turned out really nice.”

    The first BSIM test was successfully conducted in March 2024 and the customer, PM-CAS, was pleased with the data collection and test results. During the After Action Review they commented that the new BSIM site is expertly constructed and will be valuable sub-scale tool.

    NEWS INFO

    Date Taken: 06.20.2024
    Date Posted: 06.20.2024 09:40
    Story ID: 473630
    Location: YUMA PROVING GROUND, ARIZONA, US

    Web Views: 269
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