annual report 2015/2016 - isl...folio, its facilities ranging from complex simulations to...

Annual Report 2015/2016

French-German Research Institute of Saint-Louis

Annual Report2015/2016

French-German Research Institute of Saint-Louis

ISL - French-German Research Institute of Saint-Louis

Table of conTenTs

Preface ...................................................................................................... 4

Facts and figures ...................................................................................... 6

Management team ................................................................................... 8

Business development & Events ............................................................ 10

New infrastructures ............................................................................... 15

Awards ..................................................................................................... 16

Energetic and advanced protective materials ...................................... 18

Flight techniques for projectiles ............................................................ 20

Laser and electromagnetic technologies ...............................................22

Protection technologies, security, situational awareness.................... 24

ELMAS heralding railgun systems ........................................................ 26

MELIAS – Medium-Energy Laser ........................................................... 28

The future of optronic countermeasure lasers .................................... 29

OASyS2: Chasing small UAVs ............................................................... 30

Affordable navigation for guided ammunition ................................... 32

Look around the corner ......................................................................... 35

SFE: Spray Flash Evaporation .............................................................. 36


ISL– Annual Report 2015/2016 54 Preface

• A time-resolved acoustic localisationmodel, basedonthetimeofarrivalincombinationwitha3Dprop-agationmodel,was specially developed to localisethreatsinurbanareas.Firstvalidationtestsconfirmedtheprospectsinthisverypromisingtechnology.

ThesescientificachievementsandothershaveearnedISLfurtherrecognitionfromtheinternationalscientificcommunity, confirmed by the numerous prizes andawardsgrantedtovariousISLresearchteams.Aselec-tionofthesearerecordedpage16–17.

ThehighlyqualifiedscientificworkprovidedbyISL’sunique scientific portfolio requires up-to-date andsometimesuniquescientificplatforms.Inadditiontoa great number of small andmedium acquisitions,ISL – in full accordance with its Steering Board –completedin2015-2016threemajorinvestmentpro-jects:acleanroom,atrisonicwindtunnelandanewpyrotechnicalcomplexontheprovingground.

Inthefollowingchapters,thisannualreport2015/2016gives you a broad survey of the research activitiescarriedoutatISL,andafewselectedsnapshots.Wewishyouapleasantreading!

Preface

boardtechnologyembeddingon-boardtransmitters,sensorsandmultiplexers,allowingforexamplelong-rangebidirectionalcommunicationwiththeprojec-tilewith16-mm-diametermodules;

• Aninnovativeconceptforlong-rangeprojectileswasdevelopedandispatent-pending:thismayleadtodoublingtheexistingranges;

• Inthelaserfield,ISLmadeasignificantcontributiontotheprotectionagainstincomingthreatswithnewbeam-shapingopticsdevelopedatISLandallowinga perfect overlap of emission bandwidths I and II.Theywere successfully field tested at theTechni-cal Centre for Protective and SpecialTechnologies(WTD52)inOberjettenberg(Germany);

• The latest developments with respect to thePEGASUS railgun allow the acceleration of repre-sentativeprojectiles,atinitialvelocitiesofmorethan2300 m/swithanefficiencyofupto37%,aworldre-cordaccordingtotheopenliterature.Inparallel,com-patibilityofexplosive-loadedprojectilesandon-boardelectronics has been successfully tested with thehighelectromagneticfieldsdevelopedbytherailgun;

• ISL’s unique acoustic detection and active imag-ing technologies were combined and successfullydemonstratedduringfieldtestsinGermanyforthepurposeofdetection, reconnaissanceand localisa-tionofUnmannedAerialVehicles(UAVs).Theuniquerange-gating capability of active imagingwas suc-cessfully used to silhouette flying objects againstverystructuredbackgrounds,suchas foliageorur-banlandscape; Dr.-Ing. Thomas CZIRWITZKY – Christian de VILLEMAGNE

At itsmeeting onApril 7, 2016, the French-GermanCouncil of Ministers emphasised again the impor-tance of the interoperability of the French andGer-manarmedforcesaswellasthatoftheFrench-Ger-mandefencecooperation.Thesearefosteredbyjointmilitaryrequirementsandarecertainlysupportedbyjointresearchandtechnologyactivities.ISLhascom-mitteditselftothisgoalformorethan57years.

Atourbinational research institute,FrenchandGer-man scientists and engineers bring disruptive tech-nologies to life, prompting a growing academic re-nown,whileservingtheneedsofISL’sdefenceandsecurity stakeholders. This academic recognitionprovidesthebenchmarkensuringthatISL’sscientificoutput isattheforefrontof innovation.Ourproxim-itywiththeend-usersofourresearchensuresthatitremainsfocussedontheirneeds.

ISL’sfourmainresearchtopics,i.e.materialsresearchincludingexplosives,flighttechniquesforprojectiles,new electric effectors such as eye-safe lasers andelectricguns,andprotectiontechnologies,restonabroadrangeofcompetences.Thebreadthofthere-searchportfolioandthedepthoftheresearchinves-tigationsareofteninopposition.ButISL’suniquemixprovestobesurprisinglyefficient.Itsscientificport-folio, its facilities ranging fromcomplexsimulationstofree-fieldtestinganditscomprehensiveapproachnurtureawealthoftangiblesolutions.ISLactsasanR&Tone-stopshop,uniqueinEurope,tothebenefitofthefrontlinesoldiersandfirstresponders.

ISLdoesnotwork in isolation.Onthecontrary.Weleveragetheskillsofmanyexternalpartners,withaviewtoconsolidating theiraddedvalueonselecteddefenceandsecurity issues.With41PhDstudentsattheendof2016,ISLensuresaclosecooperationwith justasmanyacademic research teams,aswepurposefully choose doctoral supervisors outside

ISL.We further collaborate with other laboratorieswithin the framework of common projects fundedbyvariousresearchfundingorganisations.Wedefinethemilestonesofourscientificroadmaps,sothatthestrategicdecisionsoftheFrenchandGermandefenceandsecurityprocurementorganisationswithrespecttotechnologyprojectsmaybecarriedoutonsoundbases.Weexchangecontinuouslywith thedefenceandsecurityindustry,andothernationalresearchin-stitutesfulfillingdefencetaskingsincomplementarydomains,soastobringuniquecontributionswheretheyaremostneededwithin ISL’sportfolioofcom-petences.

Here is a selection of results achieved in 2015 and2016:• ISL’s powdermetallurgy, including powder produc-

tionandpowdersinteringthroughtheSPSprocess,producedaluminiumsampleswithconsiderablyim-provedhardnessandstrenghtcaracteristics;

• Thepatentedmanufacturingprocessofveryinsen-sitiveRDX(VI-RDX)–aspecificgradeofacommonexplosivethatprovidesamuchlowershocksensitiv-ity–wasfurtheroptimised.Theproductionefficien-cycouldbeincreasedfrom35%to60%.Alicenseagreementwassignedattheendof2015,andISLassiststhescaling-upbythelicenseethroughasup-portcontract;

• Promisingsubstitutesforpropellantstabilisersweredeveloped, in compliancewith theREACH regula-tions,preventing the formationofcarcinogenicby-products.Furthermore,researchwasconductedonanenergeticmixtureofnano-explosivesandnano-thermites,makingitpossibletoinitiateadetonationin a secondary explosivewithout (highly unstable)highexplosives;

• Theminiaturisationofg-hardened, low-costsensorand effector suites, which are needed for futureguided projectiles, experienced a further leap for-ward,withareductionfactorof2to3forelectronic


ISL– Annual Report 2015/2016 76 Factsandfigures

facTs and figures2015 2016

98 scientists

34 PhDstudents

92 engineers

50 technicians

63 workers

64 administrationandsupport

2 apprentices

per31.12.2015

98 scientists

41 PhDstudents

87 engineers

53 technicians

61 workers

63 administrationandsupport

5 apprentices

per31.12.2016

70% salaries

16% operatingcosts

14% investment

Budget*: 49.781 M€ (*VATincluded)

71% salaries

16% operatingcosts

13% investment

Budget*: 49.213 M€ (*VATincluded)

122 documentswrittenwithinthe

frameworkofcontractsoragreements

164 publications(conferences,

scientificjournals,posters)

53 technicalreportsandpapers

www.isl.eu

159 documentswrittenwithinthe

frameworkofcontractsoragreements

160 publications(conferences,

scientificjournals,posters)

47 technicalreportsandpapers

24% energeticandadvancedprotectivematerials

23% flighttechniquesforprojectiles

21% laserandelectromagnetictechnologies

32% protectiontechnologies,security,situationalawareness

26% energeticandadvancedprotectivematerials

22% flighttechniquesforprojectiles

18% laserandelectromagnetictechnologies

34% protectiontechnologies,security,situationalawareness

1ListofselectedISLpublicationsonourWebsite 2ListofpatentsandlicencesonourWebsite

1 2


ISL– Annual Report 2015/2016 98 Managementteam

ManageMenT TeaM

Martin WINTER CorporateAffairs

Magdalena KAUFMANN-SPACHTHOLZ Communication

Pascale LEHMANN ActingHeadofScientificSector

Christian de VILLEMAGNE FrenchDirector

Jean-Pierre MOEGLIN BusinessDevelopmentOffice

Marc EICHHORN LaserandElectromagneticTechnologies

Bernd Michael FISCHER ProtectionTechnologies,Security, SituationalAwareness

Christophe TAMISIER EnergeticandAdvancedProtectiveMaterials

Thomas CZIRWITZKY GermanDirector

Sandra LICHTENAUER Quality,Security,Environment

Dominique CHARGELÈGUE FlightTechniquesforProjectiles

Fromlefttoright


ISL– Annual Report 2015/2016 1110 Businessdevelopment&Events

business develoPMenT & evenTsISLhasevolvedovertheyearsfromaninternalorgani-sationoftheMinistriesofDefence,focussedinwards,to a full-blown research institution, fully comfortablewithintheacademicworldandalsopromotingapplica-tionsofitstechnologiesdownstream.

How to access ISL technology?

ISL’s researchoutput resulting from the ISL researchprogrammebenefittingbothMoDsandthusfundedbyMoDs’subsidiesbelongstoISL.However,bothMoDsreceiveallcorrespondingresearchreports(irrespectiveofthedistinctionbetweenso-called“basicresearch”and“governmentcontracts”)andenjoyarightofusefordefence-specificpurposes.

Whenacustomer–beitacompanyoragovernmentorganisation-wantsaspecificresearchoutputthatheonly canuse,whether it pertains to a customer-spe-cificissue(inwhichcasetheresearchisde factonotbenefittingbothMoDs)orthecustomerwantsexclu-siverights,aso-called“third-partycontract”mustbeplaced.Inthiscase,thepropertyoftheforegroundin-formationcreatedbythethird-partycontractisdefinedwithinthecontract:itmaybelongtothecustomer,ortoISLwitharightofuseforthecustomer.

Inanycase,ISLremainstheownerofthebackgroundinformation,whichmaybe licensed. ISL’spolicy is todeliver non-exclusive licenses, so that in particularFrench companies may not bar German companiesfromanISLtechnologyandconversely.

Contracting with ISL

ISL’sBusinessDevelopmentOfficeactsashonestbro-kerbetweenISLscientistsandcustomers.Thankstotheunparalleleddiversityofitsresearchdomains,ISL [email protected]@

iscapableofmeetingalargevarietyofspecificneedsfromcustomers,partnersorprojectleaders,especiallyinthedefenceandsecuritycommunity,butalsoinim-portant sectors of the civilian economy, such as theautomotiveandaerospaceindustries,theenergysup-ply and storage field, or the biomedical engineeringindustry.Somethird-partycontractsareone-shotven-tures,fulfillingaone-timeneed.ISLis,however,opentolonger-termpartnerships,whichmaycomewithad-ditionalbenefitsforthecustomer,suchassharinganddiscussingtechnologicalroadmaps.

Hamburg inMarch2016and reinforced its linkswiththeUniversityoftheBundeswehrinMunich.ThisidealcombinationallowsPhDstudentstobeexchangedandresearchtobeconductedinadedicatedenvironmentwithrespecttodefenceandsecuritythemes.

The strength of ISL lies in its multidisciplinarity andinterdisciplinarity, its reactivityand the fact thatstud-iesareconductedinonesingleplace,fromtheoretical

Offering new, added-value to the customers

Fordefencecustomers,twooftheuniqueaddedval-uesofISL,beyondthetopicalexcellenceofitsresearchportfolio,areitscloseconnectionswiththeoperationalforces inorder togain abetterunderstandingof theneedsoftheend-usersandthecapabilitytoextenditsscientificoutputby leveragingcollaborationswiththeacademicworld.

2015and2016wereyearsofintenseexchangeswiththeacademicworldandtheoperationalforces.Arma-ment anddefence topics cannot beeasily treated inuniversitiesandcivilian research institutes,especiallyinGermany,evenwhentheyarefundedbytheMoD.Thus, ISL signed a cooperation agreement with theHelmut Schmidt University of the Bundeswehr in

studies to simulations and real-life experiments, andmixingallscientificdisciplines.

Withsomanyadvantages,nowonderthat ISL’sthirdparty business has increased significantly, especiallyoverthepastfewyears,sothatitcontributesalreadyasizablepartofISL’sbudget.Ifyoufeeltheneedfornewideasandtechnologicalsolutionsinyourcurrentbusinesssituation,ISLwillbeyourpartner.

13th Summer University of Defence | Strasbourg | September 14–15, 2015

Thismeeting takesplace in a different French re-gioneachyear.In2015Strasbourgwastheconfer-enceplacechosenunder the theme:“Reconnais-sanceandFrench-Germandialogue”. ISLexhibiteditsknow-howontwodifferentlocations:oneattheCFIAR(CentredeFormation InterArméesauRen-seignement)togetherwithallthesupplyandlogis-ticsmilitaryservices,andtheotherattheCongressCentreofStrasbourg.

DR:FabriceDIMIER-Universitéd’étédelaDéfense2015

Fairs and Exhibitions

SOFINS | Bordeaux | April 14–16, 2015

ISLexhibited itshigh-end technologiesat theSO-FINSSpecial ForcesFair inBordeaux.Therewerepresented:Bio-inspiredandautonomousUnattend-ed Ground Sensor B-Saved, Gun-Launched AerialVehicle (GLMAV), Advanced protection materials,3D audio display and portable eye-safe imaginggoggle.



DGA Innovation Forum | Palaiseau | November 26, 2015 and November 24, 2016

TheDGAInnovationForumistheyearlyopportunityto present theDGA-funded innovationprojects toacademicand industrialpartners. In2015 ISLpre-senteditsmultidisciplinaryprojects:IMOTEP(snip-erdetection),OASyS²(detectionofmicroairvehi-cles –MAVs), the detection of illegal substancesbyTHzspectroscopyandnovel“green”explosives(Suprématieproject).

In 2016 ISL presented its new project BANG, anovelhearingprotectiondevicewithintegratedtalk-throughfilter,developedwithintheframeworkofaDGAPEAincollaborationwithCOTRAL.Anotherinteractivepresentationdisplayed“Lookaroundthecorner”,abasicresearchprojectoncomputationalimaging(seepage35).

DWT-Conference | Bonn/Bad Godesberg | February 23–25, 2016

AttheDWT-Conferenceon“TrendsinDefenceandSecuritytechnologies–ResearchandTechnologyinGermany”,ISLpresentedthemultipleaspectsofitsresearchindefenceandsecuritymatters.EUROSATORY | Paris | June 13–16, 2016

ISL’s presence at the international armament fairEUROSATORYwasintensifiedin2016.Anenlargedexhibitionboothwasthemeetingpoint forpromi-nent visitors: the German Ambassador NikolausMeyerLandrut (2nd left) accompaniedbyGeneralZimmer (AIN) and the German Defence AttachéGeneralPothvisitedtheISLstand.

AsecondfocalpointatthefairwastheDGAexhibi-tion.TheDGAhadinvitedISLtojoinotherresearchcentresandpresentrecentinnovativeresults.ThusthemodelofthenewSprayFlashEvaporationprocessdevelopedbyISL(seepage36)wasshowninpublicforthefirsttime.Thispatentedprocessforthecocrystallisationofnanomaterialshasbeendevelopedincol-laborationwiththeFrenchNationalResearchCentreCNRSandtheUniversityofStrasbourg.

Fairs and Exhibitions (continued)

Conferences and workshops organised by ISL

Budding Science Colloquium | ISL, Saint-Louis | June 24–25, 2015 and June 20–21, 2016

TheISLBuddingScienceColloquiumisayearlycon-ferenceorganisedbyISLtoofferits40orsoPhDstu-dentsthebesttrainingconditionsforpresentingtheirwork.ISLgrantsanawardtothebestoralpresenta-tionandthebestposter.TheprizeforthebestoralpresentationwasawardedtoJonathanKlein,forhispresentation“Using 2D intensity images for track-ingobjectsoutsidethelineofsight”.ThebestposterwaspresentedbyAroRamamonjyforhis“Dronede-tection,localisationandtrackingusinganetworkofcompactdifferentialmicrophonearrays”.

5th Workshop on Battlefield Acoustics | ISL, Saint-Louis | October 11–12, 2016

The French Defence Procurementagency (DGA) and the German“Bundesamt für Ausrüstung, In-formatinstechnik und Nutzung derBundeswehr” (BAAINBw) invited in-ternationalexpertsinacousticsatISLto participate in their jointworkshopon “Battlefield Acoustics“. This bi-annual meeting gathers more than100expertstodiscussabouttopicssuchastheacousticenvironmentonthebattlefield,hearingprotection,audiocommunicationandsituationalawareness.

Battle�eld Acoustics



Meeting of the directors of the German Armament Research Institutes | ISL, Saint-Louis | October 05–06, 2016

Every year the German Ministry ofDefence invites all the directors ofthe research institutes and testingcentrestoameeting inorder tohar-monisestategyandprogrammeplan-ning. InOctober 2016 this high-levelgroupmetatISLtovisittheinstituteanddiscover theperformanceof the“Pegasus”electricrailgun.

12th Laser Ceramics Symposium | FORUM, Saint-Louis | November 28 – December 2, 2016

@ [email protected]

The “12th Laser Ceramics Sympo-sium” (LCS), hosted by ISL and theCity of Saint-Louis, took place fromNovember 28 to December 2 in thenew “FORUM” conference centre inSaint-Louis.Theconferenceaddressedresearchintransparentceramicsforla-ser applications and gathered expertsandscientistsinlaserphysicsandma-terialsscience.

5th Workshop on Active Imaging | ISL, Saint-Louis | November 18–19, 2015

More than 100 scientists, operational staff, staterepresentatives and industrial experts from dif-ferent countries shared current information aboutoperational needs,modelling, simulation anddataprocessing and novel components in the field of

active imaging systems.Therewas special focus onnoveladvancedimagingconceptssuchascompressedsensing, non-line-of-sight imaging and imaging withmultiscatteredphotonsorunusualwavelengths.

Inauguration of the new trisonic wind tunnel | ISL, Saint-Louis | June 25, 2015

Thenewwindtunnelisanexceptionalscientificfa-cility due to its technical characteristics.ThewindvelocitycanbevariedfromMach0.5(whichcorre-spondstothespeedofatrain)toMach4.5,i.e.over5500 km/h.Thanks to the three operatingmodes(subsonic, transonic, and supersonic), projectilescanbe testedundervaryingconditions in the testsectionof30cmx 40 cmduringblow-downtestslasting forup to60s.Thenewfacility is thereforeparticularly suitable for testing small-scalemodelsofmissilesandartilleryshells,anessentialstep indefiningtheaerodynamicarchitectureofguidedprojectiles.Thenovelwindtunnelallowsteststobecarriedoutatmuchlowercoststhanotherexistingfacilities.Industrialpartnersandotherresearchinstituteshavealreadyexpressedtheirinterestinusingthiswindtunnelfortheirtests.

Inauguration of the E3 pyrotechnical complex at the ISL proving ground | ISL, Saint-Louis | June 22, 2016

FrenchandGermanrepresentativesoftheDefenceministriesandlocalauthoritiesdiscoveredthebrand-new E3 pyrotechnical complex at the ISL provingground.After3yearsofconstruction,thispyrotech-nical plant equippedwith advanced video-assistedmanufacturingsystemsaswellaswithspecificlabo-ratoriesandstoragedepotsforenergeticmaterialsnow offers a secure environment for the handlingoflargeramountsofpropellantsandexplosives,in-creasingISL’sefficiencyandreactivity,andenabling“reallife”tests.

In 2015 and 2016 ISL significantly invested in its scientific equipment and infrastructure.

new infrasTrucTures


ISL– Annual Report 2015/2016 1716 Awards

awards

Guy Ourisson Prize

Dr.VincentPichot,anISLscientistfromtheNS3E*(NanomaterialsforSystemsunderExtremeSolicitations),wasawardedonJanuary 23,2015 the“GuyOurisson Prize 2014” granted by the“University ofStrasbourgFoundation-CercleGutenberg”.

Lazare Carnot Prize

Dr.DenisSpitzer,Directorof theNS3E*,wasawardedthe“LazareCarnotPrize”fromtheFrenchAcademyofSciencesforhisfundamen-talresearchinthefieldofenergeticnanomaterialsandhisworkonthecontinuousnanocrystallisationoforganicmatters.

NATO SET Panel Excellence Award

TwomembersoftheFrench-GermanResearchInstituteofSaint-Louis(ISL),Dr. ChristelleKieleck,ascientistfromtheDPA(DirectedPho-tonics andApplications) group andDr. Marc Eichhorn, head of the“LasersandElectromagneticTechnologies”division,wereawardedthe“NATOSETPanelExcellenceAward”fortheiroutstandingcontributiontotheSET170TaskGroupon“Mid-InfraredFibreLasers“thatenhancedthevisibilityoftheSETPanelandisamajorbenefitfortheNATOcommunity.

Knight of the French National Order of Merit

Ontheoccasionoftheinaugurationofthenewtrisonicwindtunnel,Dr.DominiqueChargelègue,headofthe“FlightTechniquesforProjectiles”divisionwasawardedtherankof“KnightoftheFrenchNationalOrderofMerit”.

Group for Aeronautical Research and Technology in EURope (GARTEUR) Award

TheinternationalGroupforAeronauticalResearchandTechnologyinEURope(GARTEUR)awardedthedistinc-tionof“EminentMember”toDr.PatrickGnemmiduringtheirannualconferenceinSevilleinNovember2015,inrecognitionoftheserviceshehasrenderedtotheaeronauticalcommunity.

Innovation Award

OnApril22,2015,NS3E*wasgrantedthe“InnovationAward“bytheMBDAgroup,aprizeawardedtothemostpromisingpatents.Thepatentedinnovationconsistedofmixingnanostructuredinertpowdersbymotioninducedbymagneticparticles.

Best papers

The paper presented by the ELSI laboratory and en-titled“AbioinspiredapproachtointelligentUnattendedGround Sensors (B-SAVED)” was awarded the firstprize for the best scientific contribution at the Inter-nationalConferenceonArtificial IntelligenceandBio-inspiredDataProcessing:TheoryandApplicationsIX.ThisprizerewardsthepaperpresentedbyDr. NicolasHueberattheSPIESymposiumonDefence,SecurityandSensinginBaltimore,USA,onApril21,2015.

The oral presentation on “The Production of Ener-geticNanomaterialsbySprayFlashEvaporation”givenby Martin Klaumünzer, Jakob Hübner and Dr. DenisSpitzerreceivedtheBestPaperAwardfromtheWorld

*NS3E:thejointlaboratoryfoundedbyISL,CNRSandtheUniversityofStrasbourg

International Symposium on Ballistics

TwomajorawardsweregrantedtoresearchworkconductedbyISLscientistsduringthe„InternationalSympo-siumonBallistics“,whichtookplaceinEdinburgh,UK,onMay9–13,2016.

Rosalind & Pei Chi Chou Award

The“Rosalind&PeiChiChouAward”,honouring thework of eminent young researchers,was granted toStephan Weidner, Robert Hruschka, Christian Rey,FriedrichLeopoldandFriedrichSeilerfortheirworkon“Supersonicwakeflowanalysisoffinnedprojectileaf-terbodiesatvariousspinrates”.

SABO Award

The“SABOAward” for thebest posterpresentationwas granted to Eric Fousson and Claude Berner fortheir poster“Free-flight tests ofmedium-caliber am-munitionusinganimpulsethruster:Preliminaryphase”.

2016 Ingénieur Général Chanson Award presented to the B-SAVED team as “Innovation of the year”!

An importantmeeting point at Eurosatory 2016wasthe ceremony for the “Ingénieur Général ChansonAward”,organisedbytheFrenchLandDefenceIndus-triesGroup(GiCAT)andtheFrenchAssociationofLandArmaments (AAT) on June 15, 2016.They attributedtheAwardtoDr.PierreRaymondandDr.NicolasHue-ber,representingtheISLLaboratoryforSensoryIntel-ligenceELSI, for theB-SAVEDconcept consisting ofanautonomoussensorequippedwithartificial intelli-genceandabletodetect,evaluateandmakeadecisioninrealtime.

2015 Awards

2016 Awards

AcademyofScience,EngineeringandTechnologydur-ingthe18thInternationalConferenceonNanosciencesandNanotechnologies.

TheCommitteeofthe18thInternationalSymposiumonElectromagneticLaunchingawardedthe“CertificateofExcellence”toDr.StephanHundertmarkforhispaperonelectromagneticlaunchingsystems.TheEMLSym-posiumtookplaceinWuhan,China,inOctober2016.

At the SPIE Security + Defence Conference 2016,JonathanKlein, an ISLPhDstudent researching at theUniversity of Bonn,was granted the“BestOral PaperAward”forhispaper“Real-timetrackingaroundacorner”.

The lifecyclemanagementofdefencesystemshasbecomean increasingchallengebothfortheFrenchandGermanMinistriesofDefence.Theageingofmaterialsthatareusedorstoredinsevereenvironmentscanindeedleadtoalossoftheirperformance.Thisfacthasbeenassessedasacriticalpointbothforenergeticsystemsandprotec-tivematerials.Moreover,theREACHandRoHSregulationshaveanincreasingimpactontheobsolescenceofproducts,whichmakestheresearchonsubstitutematerialsfordefenceapplicationsmandatory.However,beyondtheseissues,toppriorityisstillgiventothefollowingmilitaryrequire-ments: reduced vulnerability and enhanced performance for energeticmaterials andweightreductionforadvancedprotectiveorstructuralmaterials.Inordertofulfilltheserequirements,ISLscientistshavetofacetwomainscientificchallenges:

• on theonehand, theyhave tobeable todevelopnewmaterialswithaveryaccuratecontroloftheirphysicalandchemicalproperties, rangingfromthemicrometricdown to thenanometricscale, as thefeaturesof thesematerialshaveadirect influenceontheperformanceofthesystems;

• ontheotherhand,theyhavetodeepentheirunder-standingoftheinfluenceofvariousmaterialparam-etersontheirintendedproperties.

Progressoneachofthesetopicsistobemadeinpar-allel,asthesetwoactivitiesarestronglyinterdepend-

entandarerequiredforproducingmaterialswithen-hancedproperties.Inordertotackletheseissues,ISLhasbeendevelopingstrongresearchactivitiesinthreescientificdomains:• materialsmanufacturingprocesses,• materialscharacterisation,• modellingrelatedtothetwopreviousdomains.TheSprayFlashEvaporation(SFE)techniqueisabril-liantexampleoftheworkperformedatISLinthefieldofmaterialsmanufacturingprocesses(seep.36).

ENERGETIC AND ADVANCED PROTECTIVE MATERIALS

@[email protected]

FLIGHT TECHNIqUES FOR PROJECTILES

Researchonguidedammunitionrequiresadeepknowledgeoftheprototypebuilding,integrationandthegun-hardeningofvariouscommunicationsystems,sensorsandtheirassociatedelectronics.ISLhasatitsdisposaldifferentwindtunnelsandhasthepossibil-ityofperformingfree-flighttestsattheISLprovingground.Theseimportantassetsallowthetestinganddevelopmentofthenecessarytechnologybricksforguidedammunition.Studies on measurement and navigation units have been conducted, based on

low-cost MEMS (Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems: magnetometers, accelerom-

eters, gyros) with and without GNSS (Global Navigation Satelite System).

Alotofprogresshasbeenmade,inparticularinmasteringthemodelsofthevarioussensors(magnetometers,accelerometers,gyrosandGNSSreceivers)andinthecali-brationoftheparametersofthesemodelsinthelaboratoryandinflightatshortrange

atouropenrangesite.Thesepre-testsarebeneficialandnecessarytopreparethelong-rangefiringsattheprovinggroundsofBourges(France)andMeppen(Ger-many)(seepp.32–33).Innovative aerodynamic architectures and guidance

and control solutions

Several concepts have been evaluated.The first re-sultsareverypromising,e.g.forincreasingtherangeof guided projectiles. A significant amount of workremains tobedone toobtainamore reliableperfor-mance level and tooptimise them.Thenew trisonic

windtunnelwillgreatlycontributetotheachievementofthisgoal.Bidirectional communication and telemetry systems

Noticeable achievements have been accomplished.Reconfigurableconformalphasedarrayantennashavebeendesignedaswell as small antennaswithmeta-materials.Thisworkwill be continued for the designofGNSSantennas(amongothers)thatareresistanttojammingandspoofing(seepp.33–34).

@[email protected]

LASER AND ELECTROMAGNETIC TECHNOLOGIES

The“LaserandElectromagneticTechnologies”divisionfocusesonbasicandappliedre-searchnecessarytorealisetheelectromagnetic(EM)weaponandprotectionsystemsofthefuture: high-energy and countermeasure laser sources, EM launchers and vari-

ous EM effectors.Asaresultofthecomplexityofthetechnologiesinvolvedandduetomilitaryboundaryconditionstoberespected,researchhastoaddress,tostudyandtoevaluatealltheimportantaspectsofthesesystems,includingthespecificenergysupplychain,fromthecomponentleveluptotechnologydemonstrators.

Ourresearchaddressestheinvestigationofcomplexelectrodynamicprocessesinordertoelaborateand tooptimise EM weapon and protection systems, to increase theiroverallefficiencyandtoreducetheirsize,weightandpower(SWaP)requirements.

Lasersarebecomingmoreandmoreimportantformili-taryapplications:high-energy “eye-safe” lasersdeliv-eringsufficientenergytoatargetforclose-indefenceagainst threatssuchasmortars,etc., andspecial la-

sers for countermeasures designedtojamanddam-age optical systems (see p. 29).The research effortsfocusontherealisationofnovellaser sources.

Considerabletechnicalprogresshasbeenachievedinthefieldofrailgun projectile development and EM

launcher scaling towardslong-rangeartilleryapplica-

tions.Thecross-cuttingcharacteroftheseactivitieswillbefoundinthe“MELIAS”and“ELMAS”sectionsofthisreport(seepp.26–28).

Addressingthehighcurrent,voltageandpowerswitch-ingratesrequired,inaparameterrangenotcoveredbyindustrialapplications,theresearch on semiconduc-

tor components hasfocusedonsiliconcarbidedevic-es.EspeciallySiCthyristorsandPiNdiodesorarein-vestigated,topromote significantimprovementsinthesize,weightandpowerforpulsedpowergenerators.

@[email protected]

PROTECTION TECHNOLOGIES, SECURITY, SITUATIONAL AWARENESS

IncontrasttotheotherISLscientificdivisions,thestructureandorganisationofthe“ProtectionTechnologies,Security,SituationalAwareness”divisionareapplication-orientedandevenmoreinterdisciplinary.Itsworkisdedicatedtoimprovingthesur-vivabilityofdefence/securityforcesandciviliansinahostileenvironmentcharacter-isedbothbythepresenceofenergeticmaterials,ballisticthreatsandbyupcomingdirectedenergyweapons.An important part of the research activities thus consists of a comprehensive

analysis of threats,whichisacrucialsteptowardsprovidingsuitableprotectionsolutions.Furthermore,anongoinganalysisofknownandemergingthreatsisnecessarytoguaran-teethatthisworkwillstayinphasenotonlywithtoday’sbutalsowithtomorrow’sopera-tionalneeds.Forinstance,wealsoinvestigatetheeffectsofhigh-energylasers,asthey

willcertainlybecomeacomponenttobeconsideredinfuturescenarios.Actionistobetakenatdifferentlevelsfortheprotec-tionofthesoldier.Thefirststepistodetect threats at

a safe distancetoenhancethesituational awarenessandtheglobalperceptionofthreatsandtargetsonthebattlefield(electronicdetectionsystemsforenhancingthesoldier´snaturalvisualandacousticsenses).Afterdetection,aconfirmationat the recognitionor identi-fication level by using advanced optical and acousticsensorsisnecessary.Afterstand-offdetection,recog-

nitionor identification,defeatingthethreathastobeconsideredbymeansofdestruction, neutralisationor mitigation techniques.The last stage addressesphysical protection.Our researchactivitiesare two-fold: on the one hand, the objective is to contributeto theprotectionofmobileplatformson land, in theairandatsea;ontheotherhand,theresearcheffortsfocusontheprotectionsystemsofthepersonnel.

@[email protected]


ISL– Annual Report 2015/2016 2726 ELMASheraldingrailgunsystems

Electromagnetic railguns can accelerate heavy projectiles to velocities

above 2000 m/s. This exceeds the limits of con-ventional guns, paving the way for new military and civilian applications such as hypersonic weapons or space launch systems. ISL has become the lead-ing European actor in this game-changing technology.

From a military point of view, railguns will offer signifi-cant superiority over conventional guns thanks to hy-personic muzzle velocities (Mach 5 to 7), resulting in shorter time to the target and extended range (up to

200 km). With no propellant required on board the plat-form, they will provide increased safety and have more space for magazines. A lower cost per engagement, compared with missiles of comparable range, will also be achieved.

With a view to combining its long-standing experience in the fields of electromagnetic acceleration and aero- ballistics, ISL has initiated the ELectroMagnetic Artil-

lery System (ELMAS) project which focuses on the military applications of railgun systems. The objective of the project is to design and develop the critical sys-tem components and to investigate the system per-formance at the ISL proving ground, combining elec-tromagnetic acceleration with free-flight experiments.

The word “system” is here of prime importance since it covers not only the railgun and the related high pulsed power supply but also the ammunition (projec-tile, sabot, armature, payload and on-board electron-ics), the platform integration constraints (in particular, electromagnetic radiation hazards to personnel, equip-ment and ordnance) and the concepts of use for land

elMas heralding railgun systems

Faster and stronger to the target

fore, a next-generation 60-mm square calibre railgunhasbeendesigned.Thelauncherwithanaccelerationlengthof6misdesignedtoachievekineticenergiesabove3MJ.A2-m-longprototype is currently beingtestedattherailgunresearchfacilityatISL(Fig. 2).

XRAM generators for electromagnetic launch

Electromagnetic launchers require electrical energyat unique gigawatt power and megajoule energy

levels. In this context, ISL´s research is focusing oninductive pulsed-power supplies with improved size,weightandpower(SWaP)ratings.Combinedwithbat-teries,inductorsofferadvantagesovercapacitorsdueto their higher energy density and favourable powerconversion(Fig. 3).WithintheframeworkoftheCIGARproject,ISLisaimingtobuilda1-MJ inductive power

supplydemonstrator basedon theXRAM topologywithpatentedopeningswitchcircuitry.Thedemonstra-toraimstosupplyalaboratoryscalerailgun.

The 1-MJ XRAM generator design provides a toroi-

dal architecture with 20 identical segments(Fig. 4)enabling a twentyfold current amplification. A proto-typecoilsegmentwithaspecialD-shapedcross-sec-tion (Fig. 5) was developed and successfully testedwith respect to its electrical and mechanical perfor-mance. Several thyristor typeswere investigated fortheir switchingperformanceand current flow. Itwasdemonstratedthattheswitchingassemblyiscapableofinterruptingacurrentof10kAperdevice.

InordertochargetheXRAMgenerator,abatterycon-sistingof200high-powerLiFePO4cellswasdevelopedand realisedand isnowavailable forexperiments re-quiringtime-limitedDCcurrentsinthekArange.Duetothemodularandflexibleset-up,thenominalvoltageandthenominalinnerDCresistancerangefrom64to640 Vandfrom3.25to260mΩ,respectively.Thebat-teryfeaturesaspecificin-house-developedmonitoringsystemandtwoopeningswitchestoensuresafeop-erationundermegawattconditions.

1

2

Battery – inductive pulsed power supply

Battery Switch Charger Capacitor Switch Inductor Switch Load

DCDC

Battery Switch Inductor Switch Load

Battery – capacitive pulsed power supply

Battery – inductive pulsed power supply

Battery Switch Charger Capacitor Switch Inductor Switch Load

DCDC

Battery Switch Inductor Switch Load

Battery – capacitive pulsed power supply

3

4

5

and naval operations (close-in defence, anti-surfacewarfare,anti-airwarfareandlandattack).

Improving railgun technology

Key aspects for the realisation of such a high-powerweapon are largemuzzle velocities, high launch effi-ciency,mega-amperecurrentamplitudes,launchpack-agedesignandbarreldurability.

Recently, the researchconductedat ISLhasconcen-tratedon improving launchefficiency.Thecarefulde-signing of the armature – the part of the projectilewhichisacceleratedbymagneticforces–allowedISLto successfully carry out experiments attainingmuz-zlevelocitiesof3100m/swithalaunch efficiency of

more than 40%. This result is a world record as far

as the open literature is concerned.

Thenextstepconsistedindevelopingalaunchpackageincludingasabotprotectingtheprojectileduringlaunch.TheX-raypictureshowsthelaunchpackageduringfreeflight,justafterleavingthe40-mmsquarecalibrerail-gun.Itcanbeobservedthatthesabotisopeningandfreeingthehypervelocityprojectile(Fig. 1).

Thelong-rangescenariorequireslauncherswithlargercalibres, due to aerodynamic considerations. There-


ISL– Annual Report 2015/2016 2928 MELIASahitatlightspeed

Melias a hit at light speed

Medium-Energy Laser In the “eye-sAfe” Spectral domain

Considerable progress recently made in the field of solid-state lasers will allow the development and use of laser weapons in the near future. When using high-energy lasers in military operations, not only technical aspects – such as the generation of high laser power with good beam quality for optimum long-distance fo-cusing – have to be considered but also legal aspects, such as the international prohibition of blinding laser weapons. In that respect, only so-called “eye-safe” la-ser weapons may be compliant with protocol IV of the 1980 “Convention on certain conventional weapons”.

Within the scope of the MELIAS project, ISL has stud-ied a very promising laser technology in the “eye-safe” wavelength region: the erbium:YAG heat-capacity

laser. This type of laser is characterised by a com-

pact design, a simple and robust technology and a

scaling law which, in principle, allows the generation of a laser power far beyond 100 kW at small volumes. The unique feature of the laser is its operating scheme: a laser medium (crystal or ceramic) is used for one shot, lasting for about 3 to 5 s without any cooling, it is then replaced by a cold medium. Several shots without cooling may be performed, using the revolver technol-ogy designed at ISL. Alternatively, by adding a special cooling system to the revolver, the laser should be able to operate in a repetitive, continuous mode.

After two laboratory set-ups, MELIAS I and MELIAS II, which proved the effectiveness of the working principle of this kind of laser, the upscaled MELIAS II+ is

underconstructionatISL.TheaimofMELIASII+istoreachapowerofupto30 kWforseveralseconds.

Effect-based design

Laser-matterinteractioncanberegardedasthecounterparttoprojectile-basedweaponsintermsofballistics,owingtotheuniquecapabilityoflaserbeamstocarryenergyatthespeedoflightoverlargedistances.Modellingbecomesin-creasinglyimportanttominimisethecostofexperimentalseries,toquicklyadaptthemtochangingthreatsortothedevelopmentofnovelmaterials.Inthecaseoflaser-mat-terinteraction,merelyconsideringastaticsamplewhileignoringalltheotherboundaryconditions(suchas,forex-ample,thepropermovementofthesampleandthesur-roundingairflow),leadstoresultsthattakeintoaccountonlyasmallpartofreality.ISLhasdevelopedcustomisedmodellingcodesaswellasspecificexperimentalset-upsthatincludesuchparameters,sothatrealisticoperationalconditionsareprovided.Fig.1showsthesignificantdif-ference in the effects of laser irradiation on a metallicsamplewhentheairflowistakenintoaccountandwhenit isnot,whileall theotherparametersaremaintained.Taking into consideration the rotation of a sample

drastically changes the heat transfer into the sample.

Noairflow Airflow

1

2

1One of themain activities of ISL´s laser research isthedesignofbeyond-state-of-the-arthighly versatile

laser sources emitting in the mid-infrared (mid-IR)

region,thathavetofulfilltherequirementsforoptroniccountermeasureapplications. Innovativearchitecturesallowtherestrictivesize,weightandpower(SWaP)re-quirementstobemet.ISLteamstakepartinfieldtrialsand measurement campaigns with current state-of-the-artruggedisedlasers,anothermissionthatenablesanassessmentstrategytobeelaboratedandinfraredcountermeasurestobedeterminedbothfortheFrenchandGermanMoDs.

Opticalfibresareexpected toallow thenextstepofimprovementtobeundertaken.Fibre lasers emitting

radiation at 2 µm areofparticular interest.Their ra-diationiseffectivelydown-convertedwithinanopticalparametric oscillator (OPO) orwithin nonlinear fibrestoobtainpowerfulradiationinthemid-IRregion.Newfibredesignsandcompositionswereconceived,thenbuiltupwithpartnersandsuccessfullyimplemented.

Fibered components were developed with partnersandimplementedintoISLset-ups,toclosethegapbe-tweentherequired2-µmfiberedcomponentsandtheexistingcommercialcomponenttoolboxandtoenabletherealisationofhigh-powerall-fibre lasersystemsat2µm.A record average output power of 6.5 W was

generated by a mid-IR ZnGeP2 (ZGP) OPO pumped di-

rectlybya2-µmQ-switchedsingle-oscillatorfibrelaser.Thegenerationofasupercontinuuminnonlinearopticalfibreswasstudiedtofullycoverthemid-IRrange.Thisbandwith is extendied to beyond 4.2 µmwith an out-putpowerof7.8-Wandwasfurtherbroadenedtoreach4.9 µm.

A high-energy mid-IR ZGP OPO based on the ISLnon-planar Fractional-Image-Rotation-Enhancement

The fuTure of oPTronic counTerMeasure lasersJamming and damaging optical systems

(FIRE)resonatorpumpedbya2.05-µmHo3+:YLFlaserdeliveredupto120 mJofpulseenergyinarotationallysymmetric beam at a 1-Hz repetition ratewithin theframeworkofaNATOcollaboration.

JointtrialsonaDirectional InfraRedCounterMeasure(DIRCM) laser sourcewere carried out at a distanceofabout2kmtoevaluatecurrentsourcetechnologiesandtheiruseinDIRCMsystemsforfightingincomingthreats(Fig. 1 and Fig. 2).


ISL– Annual Report 2015/2016 3130 OASyS2:ChasingsmallUAVs

oasys2: chasing sMall uavs

The project “Opticaland Acoustic Systemfor Security and Sur-veillance (OASyS²)” isan ISL internalprojectaiming to coordinate and cross-connect the researchactivitiesofdifferentISLgroupsinthefieldsofsensortechnologies, surveillance and countermeasure tech-niques.TheOASyS²projectfocusesonthedetection,

localisation and identification of small unmanned

aerial vehicles (UAVs) aswellasontheinvestigationofcountermeasuresfortheirneutralisation.

UAVs are increasingly becoming a serious threat inthe context of civilian andmilitary scenarios.Recentdevelopments inUAV technologies tend to bring au-tonomous,highlyagileandversatileunmannedaerialvehiclesontothemarket (Fig. 1).TheseUAVscanbeused for spying operations (data collection for mis-sionplanningorinfringementofprivacy)aswellasfortransportingmaterial(smuggling,flyingimprovisedex-plosivedevices).WithintheframeworkoftheOASyS²project, ISL develops technology building blocks forthe detection and identification of UAVs to prepare

countermeasures, leveragingexistingISLknow-how.Furtheron,additional technologiesprovidedbyexter-nalpartnerswillbeinvestigated.

TheISLdetectiontechnologyisbasedonacoustican-tennaarrayswhichwereoriginallydevelopedforsniperdetection.FirstfieldtrialshaveshownthattheacousticdetectionofUAVs(rotarywings)ispossible,duetothedistinctive acoustic signature caused by fast rotatingpropellers.Asingleantennaoffersanestimationofthedirectionofthesoundsourceinazimuthandelevation(Fig. 2).Adistanceestimationcannotbegivenbyasin-gleacousticantenna,duetothecontinuousnatureoftheacousticsignal. ISL iscurrentlyworkingonanet-

1

workofacousticantennaswhichcanbedistributed,forinstance, as unattended ground sensors.Thus, UAVswillbelocatedbytriangulation.

The precise localisation and identification of UAVs

are achieved by optical sensing (Fig. 3).Here,bothpas-siveandactive imagingare investigated.Whilepassiveimagingcanprovidehigh-resolutioncolourimagesofthetarget,activeimagingcanbeusedforrangingandforin-creasingthetarget-to-backgroundcontrast.Bygatingoutthebackgroundandforeground, lasergatedviewingal-lowstheoperator’sattentiontofocusonlyonthetargetitself.Thus,theimpactoftexturedenvironmentsontheidentificationperformancecanbeneglected.UAVscanbeidentifiedbytheoperatoratdistancesupto1 kmwiththepresentset-upandevenunderharshenvironmentalconditions,suchasfog,smokeandheavyrain.

ISL is assessing the potential of laser-based counter-

measuresbystudyingthelaservulnerabilityofvariousstructuralmaterials,suchasplastics,composites,etc.Vitalfunctionaldevices,suchasbatterypacks,electroniccontrolandcommunicationunits,arealsoinvestigated.Extensive laboratory experimentation is necessary to

Optical and Acoustic System for Security and Surveillance

(Fig. 4)addressthedegradationprocessesandassessthedamagethresholds.Thisresearchiscomplementedbyastrongmodellingeffortinordertobeabletosimu-

late the thermal effects induced by beam coupling.Thegoalisthentorunsimulationteststotunethelaserweapontacticstofitagivenscenario.

2

3

4


ISL– Annual Report 2015/2016 3332 Affordablenavigationforguidedammunition

Sensormodelsandtheirrelatedcalibrationprocessesaredeveloped inorder toassessanaccuratesensorresponseunder highly dynamicmotion conditions oftheprojectile (roll rateupto1000Hzandhighaccel-eration).Thestudyincludestheparticularprojectileen-vironmentofferromagneticmaterial.Inparticular,thespin-inducedmagnetic field distortion is investigatedandcanbecompensatedwithprecisionfor roll ratesupto1kHz.Thevalidationof thesemodelsbyusingfree-flighttestsisbeingcarriedoutattheISLprovingground.Thereal-timeestimationoftherollpositionofaspin-stabilisedprojectilewasdemonstratedat760HzwithanRMSerroroflessthan2 degrees.

The data processing of a “Basic Finner” firing cam-paignin2014showedthatitispossibletoestimatetheangleof attack and the side-slip angleof a projectileonlybymeansofmagnetometersandaccelerometers.By making use of the redundancy in the measureddata, the sensormodels and the attitude estimationalgorithm can be validated. The first successful fir-ings of projectiles equippedwith gyroswere carriedoutattheendof2015andagoodagreementwiththemagnetometerandaccelerometersignalswasfound.Figure1showstheinstrumentationofaBasicFinnerprojectileusedforthesetests.

affordable navigaTion for guided aMMuniTion

Theobjectiveof this researchactivity is todevelopagun-hardened inertial measurement unit based onITAR-free,low-cost,off-the-shelfcomponentsforguid-edmunitions.Thesestudiesinvolvethedesign of on-

board electronics that include sensors, a real-time

computing unit and a radio frequency telecommu-

nication system.This researchwork also addressesthe development of dedicated navigation algorithmsthattakeintoaccountthemodellingofthesensorbe-haviourunderfiringconditionsandasimplified6DoF(DegreesofFreedom)ballisticmodeloftheprojectile.

G-hardening tests on selected sensors which arecompatible with ammunition applications have beenconductedinISL’suniqueSIBREF(SoftInBoreREcov-eryFacility)bench.Severalsourcesofmagnetometers,accelerometers, gyros and GNSS (Global NavigationSatellite System) receivers were identified and suc-cessfullytested.Aninstrumentedfusewasdevelopedfora long-rangefiringcampaignwith155-mmprojec-tilesfordataacquisitionandcomponenttesting.Itin-tegratesanewtelemetrysystemwitha2-Mbpstrans-mitterandacomputingunitthatallowsthecollectionofsensorandGNSSsignalsaswellasradioframecon-ditioning. The Electro-Magnetic Compatibility (EMC)between the telemetry andGNSS systems has alsobeeninvestigated.

2

Navigation units based on low-cost MEMS (Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems: magnetometers, accelerometers, gyros) with or without GNSS

1

Spin-stabil isedguidedconceptsrequire that theguidance fuse

containing all

the GNC (Guid-

ance, Naviga-

tion, Control)

c o m p o n e n t s

and the steer-

ing control sur-

faces should bedecoupled in ro-tation from themainbodyatthetopofthetrajec-tory. A specificfront-partdecou-pled fuse archi-tecture was re-cently designed(Fig. 2) andtestedattheISLprovingground.

Specially developed navigation algorithms take intoaccount theprojectileflightdynamics,aswellas thein-flightsensorcalibration.Variousscenarios(withandwithoutGNSS)andvarioustypesofprojectiles(fin-orspin-stabilisedprojectileswithorwithouta front-partdecoupled fuse)arebeingconsidered,and thepreci-sionof thenavigation solutions is currently being in-vestigated.

Bidirectional communication

Futureguidedammunitionwillrequiremorepowerfultelemetry systems to transmit the on-board sensordataoftheinstrumentedprojectiles.Anup-linkisnec-essarytoinitialisethenavigationunits,totransmitthecontrolcommandsortoupdatethetargetdata.Espe-ciallyinthecaseofsmall-calibreprojectileapplications,the size of the different antennasmust be reduced.Therefore,antennastructuresareinvestigated,basedon meta-materials which either allow the available

bandwidthtobeincreasedorthesizeoftheantennastructurestobedecreased.

Meta-surface cavity antennas

Cavity antennas based on meta-materialsareanin-teresting technology for small-projectile applications.However, the antenna structure can only be minia-turiseddown toa limit that isdeterminedby thedi-mensionoftheantennastructurewithrespecttothewavelength.Belowthat limittheavailablebandwidthis reduced in suchaway that theantennadoesnotworkany longer.Butmetamaterialsmay lower thatlimit. Several classical patch antennas and antennasbasedonmeta-materialsofdifferentsizeshavebeennumerically simulated before being built.The band-width results for different circular patch and meta-materialantennasat2.3GHzaresummarised in thetablebelow.

Ø Patch Meta-material

simulation measured simulation measured

32mm 64MHz 52MHz 77MHz 90MHz

20mm notworking 20MHz 21MHz

16mm notworking 19.8MHz 22MHz

Ascanbeseen,aclassicalpatchantenna,whosediam-eterisreducedto20mm,doesnotworkanylonger,whereasameta-material antennawithadiameterof16mmstillhasabandwidthof22MHz(Fig. 3).

3

Ø20mm Ø16mm

Reconfigurable conformal antenna arrays are inves-tigated forprojectiles.Thegoal is tomakethem lesssensitivetothejammingofGlobalNavigationSatelliteSystem(GNNS)devicesbutalso toenhancetheper-formance of the communication links for long-rangeapplications.


ISL– Annual Report 2015/2016 3534 Affordablenavigationforguidedammunition

Reconfigurable conformal antenna arrays

Several prototypesof conformal antenna arrayshavebeeninvestigatedwithregardtotheirintegrationintoaprojectilefuse.Figure4showsa12-elementconicalan-tennaarraymadeoffourlinearsub-arrayswith3 probe-fedradiatingelementspersub-array.Aprototypewasdesignedandvalidatedbynumericalsimulationbeforebeingbuilt.Themeasured radiation characteristics oftheelementaryradiatingelement (activepattern)andofthesub-arrayareingoodagreementwiththesimu-lationresults.Theproposedarrayconfigurationallowstherotationandsteeringoftheantennabeaminordertoensureeffectivepoint-to-pointcommunication.

Theindividualelementshaveabandwidthof180 MHzeach.Inordertokeeptheradiationpatterninagivendirection independent of the projectile spin (e.g. aGNSSantennashouldonlylookupwardstotheskyinordertobelesssensitiveto jammers),theindividualsub-arrays can be switched on and offwith respecttotherotation.Alternatively,phaseshiftersareused

to keep themain beam of an array always orientedinthedesireddirectiontowardsthereceivingstation.Thisincreasestheavailablecommunicationbandwidthand/orthecommunicationdistancefortelemetryap-plications.

4

The challenge consists of reconstructing a hidden

scene by sensing and by analysing the information

emitted by scattered photons (schematically de-

picted in Fig. 1).

A collimated laser pulse illuminates at a non-visiblewavelengthaspotonascatteringsurfacesuchasceil-ings.Thelightisdiffuselyreflectedintoahemisphericalspaceilluminatingahiddenscenario.Then,thelightisreflectedoffthesurfacesoftheobjectandbouncesoffthewalloncemore.Duetomultiplescattering,thede-tectedlightcarriesnoinformationforperformingdirectimagingof thescenebut itcontainsenoughvaluableinformationforcomputationalimaging.

It ispossibleto locatethehiddenreflectionsource inathree-dimensionalspace,i.e.“look around the cor-

ner”.Ouralgorithmanalysestheintensitydistributionoftheback-reflectedlightwhichisrecordedbyacam-era.Then,thealgorithmcalculatesasyntheticintensitydistributionby3Drenderingofthelightpropagationinthesceneandislookingforanoptimisedsyntheticso-lution.Asaresultthetargetpositioncanbeplottedasa3Dscenereconstruction.Inthepastyear,theperti-nenceofourapproachwasverifiedandtheimagingofscattered photonswas experimentally demonstrated.Tofurtherextendthiswork,new approaches to sens-

ing and processingarebeinginvestigatedinthecon-textofaninternationalcollaboration.

Anovelcomputationalmethodbytrackingknownob-jectsisbeingstudied(illustratedinfig. 2).Thealgorithmcomparesthecapturedimagedata(intensity,time-of-flightmap,etc.)withtheresultofthesyntheticrender-ing of the scene.After applying several optimisationsteps, this algorithm delivers reliable 6-degree-of-

freedom estimations,i.e.translationinthex-,y-andz-axesandcorrespondingrotation.Owingtomassiveparallelprocessing,thisapproachworksatanear-real-timevideorate.

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2

look around The cornerNon-line-of-sight imaging – a breakthrough emerging technology


ISL– Annual Report 2015/2016 3736 SFE:SprayFlashEvaporation

sfe: sPray flash evaPoraTion

Aims and defence needs fulfilled

The interest in energetic nanomaterials such as ex-plosives or priming nanocomposite formulations isconstantlygrowing.Itcurrentlyfulfillshighapplicativeneedsasthese nanomaterials allow enhanced per-

formances such as improved reactivity, reduction

of the critical diameter for detonation (thereby re-

ducing the amount of explosives needed to propa-

gate a detonation), enhanced mechanical effects

and decreased sensitivity to mechanical stress.Theproductionofnanometricexplosiveparticles is ratherachallengecomparedtoothermaterials,forwhichna-nostructurationisfairlyeasytoachieve,duetotheex-istenceofadaptedprecursors.Laboratoriesworldwideexploredifferenttechniquessuchassol-gelmethods,theRapidExpansionofSupercriticalSolutions(RESS),orevenantisolvent techniques.Noneof thesemeth-odspermits theproductionofnanometricexplosivesinsufficientquantityandwithreproduciblequalityforindustrialapplications.

SFE (Spray Flash Evaporation): a versatile process

PioneeringstudiesonspraysystemswerestartedbytheNS3ElaboratoryatISLin2006.A spray technique

was considered, due to its continuous character

which was essential for reaching industrial amounts

with maximum safety and reproducibility.Differentset-upswereconceivedanddesignedatISL.Untilnow,allof themhavefollowedthesameprinciple.Atfirst,theexplosiveormixtureofexplosivestobenanocrys-tallisedisdissolvedinalow-boilingorganicsolvent.Ingeneral, theconcentrationofeachcompound iscom-prisedbetween1 and10 wt%at room temperature.Thenthesolutionispressurisedto40bar,thusavoid-inganyevaporationofthesolventandstoringenergyinthesysteminthisway.Next,thesolutionisexpandedthroughaheatedhollowconenozzleintoaprimaryvac-uumchamber.Thenozzleisheatedattemperaturesbe-

tween130°Cand160°Cwhilethevacuumwithintheevaporationchamber is increased from5 to20mbar.Theextremepressuredrop,fromthehigh-pressuretothe low-pressure zone, and the subsequent tempera-turedrop instantaneously induce theevaporationandsubsequent crystallisation of the compound that hasbeendissolvedinthepristinesolution.Afteritscrystal-lisation,theproductistrappedinacyclone,afilter,oranelectricalprecipitator (see Fig. 1a).

Its very high versatility positively differentiates

the SFE process from the other techniques men-

tioned. Diverse hierarchical-structured products canbe formed, depending on pure precursors or mix-tures, and, in the latter case, on the intermolecularinteractions between different molecules, as shownin figure 1b.These structures arise as pure nano- orsubmicron-sizedparticlesorevencrystallinenanocom-posites,withdissociatedor core-shell particles.Theycanalsobesemi-amorphousortotallyamorphous.In

the case of intense intermolecular bonds, nano- or

submicron-sized cocrystals are formed.

1a

1b

Efficient production of nanometric explosives

NSTEX®: SFE solution for green igniters

A further major breakthrough application is the useof nanometric explosiveswhich are obtained bySFEand their combination with nanothermites. The mixof secondary explosives and nanothermites is called“NSTEX®”for“NanoStructuredThermiteEXplosive”.Inthiscontext,theabilitytoinducethetransitiontodeto-nationofasecondaryexplosivewassuccessfullydem-onstrated.Figure 3showsanexampleofsuchatran-sitiontodetonationandtheeffectonawitnesssteelplate. By using

NSTEX®, lead

containing prima-

ry explosives, such

as lead azide, can

be replaced.Thisisasolutiontothe is-sueraisedbythere-placementof“non-green” igniters bya totally green andeven non-primary

A process developed at the NS3E laboratory

SFEhasbeendevelopedattheNS3Elaboratory,thejointresearchunitfoundedbyISL,theFrenchNationalCentreforScientificResearch(CNRS)andtheUniver-sity of Strasbourg.This technology has been sev-

eral times patented worldwide with the support of

CNRS.Untilnow,threegenerationsofSFEnanocrys-tallisershavebeenusedforfundamentalandsuccess-fulresearch(Fig. 2).

Startingfromahorizontalpilotplantwhichdidnotin-tegratethepossibilityofonlinecrystallisationmecha-nismstudies,afurthersystem was built to produce

sufficient nanostructured hexolite for the synthesis

of the smallest nanodiamonds ever synthesised

worldwide.Thiswasanotherbreakthroughachievedby the NS3E laboratory. These nanodiamonds arepromising candidates for advanced materials in thefieldofmedicaldiagnosticsoropticallimitation,forex-ample.Afurtherattemptwasthenmadetostudythecrystallisationandnano-cocrystallisationmechanismsbyconceivinganddesigningaverticalpilotplantwithquartzwindowsplacedopposite eachother.The lat-tergeometryallowsonline metrology to be used to

investigate the evolution of droplet formation and

particle crystallisation.

The fourth-generation pilot plantwill integrate somenovelmodifications inorder to face thechallengeofunderstandingthematerialproductionmechanism.

2

2012

2014

2015

3


38 SFE:SprayFlashEvaporation

Notes

explosive.This challengecouldbemet at ISL for thefirsttimeworldwide.

The 100 g/h breakthrough

Another major challenge was addressed during thelasttwoyearsatISL.Itconcernedthescale-upofSFE.Drivenby theneed toproducesufficientamountsofnanostructuredhexolite(RDX/TNT60/40)atNS3E,theSFE process was upscaledbydesigningalargerevap-orationchamberinwhichahighflowratenozzlewasmounted(Fig. 4).Apowerfulvacuumpumpwassub-sequentlyaddedtothepilotplantinordertomaintaintheprimaryvacuumoftheevaporationchamberwithintherangefrom5to20mbar.Theseimprovementsandsomeothersledtoaproductionrateofupto100gofnanostructuredhexoliteperhour.Nano-RDXwasalsoproducedwithacomparableproductioncapacity.This

paves the way for a further extension to meet in-

dustrial demand.

Outlook and future scientific challenges

Thefirst challengehasbeen the increase in thepro-duction capacity and the broadening of the range ofproducts.Basic researchwillnowbe intensifiedwith

respect to the understanding of the crystallisationmechanism that takes place inside the SFE reactorunder thermodynamical conditions. For this purpose,severalonlinemetrologymethodswereconceived inthelaboratoryinordertoassessnucleationandgrowthkineticsduringtheprocessitself.Firstmeasurementsmadeitpossibletodetermine the size and velocity

of the spray droplets inside the evaporation cham-

ber. Other techniques developed by NS3E will alsoprovide online thermal and dynamical spectra of theproducts obtained.To investigate the nucleation pro-cessindetailonthewholeproductiontimescaleotherattemptswillbemadebyusingsynchrotronradiationatexternalfacilities.

To broaden the scope of SFE to other products andapplications, extensive and fundamental research onthecharacterisationofthepureand/orhierarchical-na-nostructuredcompositeswillberequired.Allthemeth-ods for online and post-elaboration characterisation,combinedwith the fourth novel SFE nanocrystallisergeneration,will increasethepossibilityofelaboratinghigh-performancenanostructuredexplosivesandpro-pellantsfortoday´sneedsandforfutureapplications.

4

Published by French-GermanResearchInstituteofSaint-Louis(ISL)5rueduGénéralCassagnouBP7003468301SAINTLOUISCedexFranceweb:www.isl.eu

Editors in ChiefC.deVILLEMAGNE,T.CZIRWITZKY

Redaction TeamP.WEY,M.KAUFMANN-SPACHTHOLZ

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Spark-Plasma-Sintering

Test section of ISL´s trisonic wind tunnel

Insight into high pulsed-power supply activities

A new analytical set-up for investigating protection structures

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