Safe explosives: 3D printing for safer and more efficient energetic materials

At Purdue University, 3D printing is used to make energetic materials such as explosives and propellants safer and more efficient. At the Purdue Energetics Research Center, researchers are developing customized solutions that optimize performance while increasing safety.

A key player in this area is Diane Collard, a scientist at PERC who specializes in the customized production of energetic materials using additive manufacturing. “Diane Collard is an outstanding researcher who plays a critical role leading and contributing to several research projects, including advanced propellants, high-energy batteries and explosives casings,” said Steve Son, the Alfred J. McAllister Professor of Mechanical Engineering. “She’s a great colleague, and we are fortunate to have her at Purdue.”

The ability to customize energetic materials is critical, as parameters such as explosive force, sensitivity or burn rate are highly dependent on the application and environmental conditions. Collard’s work includes the development of reactive housings that can optimize the performance of such materials. These casings, manufactured using 3D printing techniques, allow for complex internal structures and material combinations that influence both fragmentation and energy release. This project is being implemented in collaboration with the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), which aims to promote the scalability and adaptability of such technologies.

“Stepping into this role was a chance for me to branch out and expand my expertise,” Collard said. “Before I became a staff member, I was mostly focused on propellants and pyrotechnics, but now I’m able to work on explosives and battery projects. I also really like how Purdue is set up where I don’t have to tie funding to a professor. I can go after my own grants and be the primary investigator on a research project.”

Another focus is on functionally graded materials, where properties vary within a workpiece to meet specific requirements.

“These materials are tailorable for different use cases, which is the great thing about additive manufacturing. It’s really meant for a case-by-case basis,” Collard said. “If you have a specific mission set in mind or a specific performance requirement, traditional or standardized manufacturing may not be the best fit, as it is better for pumping out parts and designs at volume.”

Kelsea Miller, research engineer at AFRL, emphasizes:  “My work at AFRL has pertained to developing processing strategies for reactive materials. How do we manufacture them? How do we transition those technologies into something that’s scalable but also still tailorable from a reactivity and energetic standpoint? Diane is making great strides here, and I think there’s going to be a lot of meaningful data from it.”

Collard’s research is funded by the AFRL Regional Network – Midwest, which supports innovative projects and collaborations between universities and companies.

Stacy Manni, director of the network, said: “At the Midwest Regional Network, we seek to foster leadership and innovation from every part of our ecosystem — from small startups to inspired staff members at universities” Manni said. “We are excited to see how Diane Collard’s research pushes boundaries in the field of energetics and contributes to the Air Force mission.”

In addition to research, Collard especially appreciates working in the lab and directly mentoring students: “I get to be in the lab, on the ground, helping students understand the concepts and learn from their mistakes in order to continually improve their experiments. It can be a lot harder to witness those experiences if you’re at a higher level and are only just seeing the final product rather than all the iterations. Being able to actually tinker and get to that point is one of the joys of the lab.”