CRYOFRACTURE

The Cryofracture Process is a method in which munitions are cooled in liquid nitrogen and, once embrittled, fractured inside a large press. The energetics are accessed in the munitions and are subsequently easy to deactivate by thermal means.

Overview of Cryofracture Room

The system comprises the following items:

a) Mine Preparation – the ADAM mines are prepared to the processed by the cryofracture system.

Box car of ADAM Mines at Building 442 Removing ADAM mines from Box Car

Preparing ADAM mines Sorting ADAM Mines

ADAM QA Mines (Already functioned) ADAM mines empty transport fixtures

Munition Handlers loading ADAM Mines into Fixtures ADAM Mines prepared and staged for Cryofracture

Trained MCAAP Munition Handlers

Shipment of live ADAM QA Mines A live ADAM QA Mine (Notice shorting bar)

Already functioned Yuma Mines

a) Overhead Conveyor – the overhead conveyor is used to transport the ADAM mines in transport fixtures through the cryobath and then to the Press Munition Loader for fracture inside the press.

Loading of ADAM mines onto Conveyor Conveyor passes through blast wall

Conveyor transports mines into Cryobath (dry test)

b) Cryobath – the Cryobath contains liquid nitrogen at -300 degrees F, which cools the ADAM mines so they are brittle for easy breakup in the press.

LN2 Cryobath After suitable immersion time, mines are removed from Cryobath.

LN2 Cryobath with LN2 inside Transport fixture with Carrier immersed into LN2

Carrier and Transport Fixture with Mines undergoing cryo treatment Cryobath Filling Operations .

To minimize liquid nitrogen boil-off and reduce the usage rate, the cryobath has been heavily insulated

As with all operations involving liquid nitrogen, oxygen monitoring is required to prevent oxygen displacement in a closed environment

c) PML – The Press Munition Loader is a robot that removes the transport fixtures containing the ADAM mines from the overhead conveyor and deposits the ADAM mines inside the cryofracture press for fracture.

Press Munition Loader Robot Robot in front of transport fixture on conveyor

Robot with Transport Fixture (warm) Robot with Cold Transport Fixture

Robot inserting Transport Fixture into press Six ADAM mines deposited correctly on press tooling

Robot removing empty fixture from press

d) Press – The cryofracture press is a 600-ton press that will break up and access the ADAM mines for deactivation.

By itself in building Integrated with conveyor and robot

Cold mines being placed in tooling Cold mines accurately placed for cryofracture

e) Discharge – After the ADAM mines are fractured, the resulting debris is discharged through a cone under the press.

f) Drying – As the overhead conveyor returns to the ADAM mine loading area, the empty transport fixtures and the conveyor carriers are dried due to condensation on the cold material from immersion in liquid nitrogen.

Conveyor removes empty fixtures from PML Empty fixtures are warmed in the Drying Tunnel

Drying tunnel with Air Nozzles for fixture drying Blower and Heating units .

Dry fixture exiting drying tunnel Fixture with munitions entering cryobath room

Cold transport fixture entering drying tunnel