M 931 – Electrostatic Discharge Firing Test System for Explosive Materials

Overview:

The M 931 Firing Test System is utilized to determine the ESD susceptibility of pyrotechnic devices and explosive materials. The system generates electrostatic discharge pulses from ±100 Volts to ±26kV to determine the energy threshold required for ignition.  The Model 931 includes a variety of high voltage RC networks ranging from 100 pF to 0.50 µF and 0 to 5kW to meet the requirements of MIL, NATO and other standards.

The 2-piece Electrostatic Discharge Simulator consists of a Control Unit housing all low voltage electronics and controls plus a voltage display and a Discharge Unit containing the HVPS, polarity reversing module, plus capacitor and resistor selector modules.  Energy is stored in capacitor banks during the charging cycle. A discharge pulse is produced when a high voltage gas filled relay disconnects the charged capacitor from its charging source and connects it to the output of the FTS Discharge Unit.

ESD pulses are applied to the test sample via direct connection to the device, or through a needle electrode placed a fixed distance from a sample within the test chamber to determine the ESD susceptibility of pyrotechnic devices, powders and liquids.

Features:

• Range: ±100 to 26,000 volts
• Standard capacitor bank values included:
  • 100, 250, 500, 1000, 2000 and 5000 pF
  • 0.01, 0.02, 0.05, 0.1, 0.25 and 0.50 µF
• Standard resistors included: 0, 500, 1500 and 5000 ohms
• Firing Test Chamber
• Custom R/C networks available

Standards

The primary official source for U.S. military specifications and standards is the ASSIST database maintained by the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA). Many documents, including historical or canceled ones, are available for free download there.

• AOP-7: U.S. Section of AOP-7 Edition 2 Revision 1, Manual of Data Requirements and Tests for the Qualification of Explosive Materials for Military Use. Replaced MIL-STD-1751A.
• MIL-STD-331D
• MIL-DTL-23659F
• AIAA-S-113

For Reference Only:

• MIL-HDBK-1512 Guidance Handbook (superseded MIL-STD-1512 [USAF])
• MIL-STD-1576 (Method 2205) – Canceled 9/30/1997. Replaced by AIAA-S-113.
• MIL-STD-1751A, (Group 1030 Test Methods) – Canceled 5/25/2005. Replaced by AOP-7.