Burnmeister: Analytical Improvements, Calibration, and Workflow Validation for the Pyrotechnic and Explosive Materials Analysis Device
Toward objective combustion characterization and identification of pyrotechnic mixtures
N.R.A. Moos (TU Delft - Mechanical Engineering)
A.J. Loeve – Mentor (TU Delft - Mechanical Engineering)
K. Hutchinson – Mentor (TU Delft - Mechanical Engineering)
Jacinta Jansen – Mentor (Nederlands Forensisch Instituut (NFI))
More Info
expand_more
Other than for strictly personal use, it is not permitted to download, forward or distribute the text or part of it, without the consent of the author(s) and/or copyright holder(s), unless the work is under an open content license such as Creative Commons.
Abstract
The increasing number of explosive-related incidents highlights the need for objective techniques to characterize and identify pyrotechnic materials, including explosives. Current tech- niques, such as the "hot needle test", rely on subjective human ob- servations of flame color, combustion duration, and intensity, which limits reproducibility and accuracy of the data. In this study, the previously developed Pyrotechnic and Explosive Materials Analysis Device (PEMAD) and its analytical workflow were improved, cali- brated, and validated. Combustions of compositions with varying grain sizes, oxidizer/fuel ratios, color compositions, and sample volumes were recorded under controlled conditions. The camera was calibrated against reference values from a spectrometer and a light-meter. Color calibration reduced the deviations between the camera and the spectrometer measurements from 27-35% to 2- 3%, enabling accurate flame color characterization. Intensity cali- bration allowed pixel values to be expressed in Lux, providing inter- pretable and comparable results across all fibers, although with lim- itations. Validation confirmed that the PEMAD detects differences in combustion duration, flame color, and intensity for compositions with varying properties. Detection limits were established: slower combustions, such as gunpowder, could be reliably measured, while extremely fast combustions, such as flash powder, exceeded the upper limit for accurate peak intensity estimation. The observed sensitivity to small variations in sample volume underscores the need for strict and consistent sample preparation. With larger datasets, the PEMAD could serve as an objective method for the identification and classification of unidentified explosive materials in forensic applications