ItaliAn Agency for Ballistics

 

Feasibility studies consist in performing a certain number of actions in order to verify if it is possible or to reach the solution of a problem or to realize an idea. A feasibility study can therefore or involve a minor troublesome with the aim to resolve it or to be a first phase in a technically and timelly wider program. 

Similarly, Ballistics appraisals consist in making investigations in order to define the causes or some of them that have produced a drawback, a functioning  anomaly, a failure or, more in general, a mishap. Sometimes the purpose of the investigation is  not just the definition of the problem's causes but to study some physical parameter or phenomenous that happened durint the event. At times it is necessary to reproduce the event in a controlled way and to carry out instrumental analysis. Event's causes defining is  necessary in order to clarify possible responsabilities at management or lower level  and to understand the reason of what happened. The main purpose is always to avoid the repetition of the event adopting all the technical and organizational indications that arise from the appraisal.

Sometimes in order to conduct a feasibility study or an appraisal it is necessary to simulate the situation; that is the case, for example, when the goal is to understand if a certain amount of explosive is able to destroy a target or from the other side to understand the amount of explosive that caused a demolition; for these studies it is possible to prepare 2D or 3D mathematical models of the system and verify its behaviour with perconal computers.

When the purpose is to highlight the problem's causes inside it's own organization, it could be much useful to recourse to a third party that can evaluate all the elements with a impartial approach and without influences coming from personal implications.

 

In this branch the activities carried out by the Agency are as follows: 

¨ analysis of a troublesome and definition of possible solutions;

¨ evaluation on the possibility to realize technically an idea;

¨ technical investigation in order to define the technical causes that have produced a failure or a mishap and the related responsabilities;

¨ law investigation in order to detect explosive's nature;

¨ law investigation to define the right configuration of an explosive item;

¨ evaluation on an explosive item's safety conditions;

¨ Bi and Tridimensional Simulation of explosions (in air, in water and in the ground) in order to verify its effectiveness on target or, on the contrary, the resistance of a structure versus an explosion.

 

The  Italian Agency for Ballistics  intervenes to support the Customer from a technical and organizational point of view. 

Examples:   “I have a problem and I wish to solve it or I would like to reach a certain technical solution but I have to evaluate if its realization is possible and, above all, if it is cost-effective, but I do not have time and resources to devote at the problem”;  

or, in other cases, “a weapon system or explosive item's functioning failure happened and I wish to define its causes to avoid a possible next repetition, or during a pyrotechnical activity in a laboratory a mishap happened with damage to personnel and I wish to define the workers' responsabilities, or again an explosion happened in one ammunition depot and I wish to define its causes; finally, I found out/confiscated munitions and items that seem to contain explosive and I wish to define their safety degree, but I have the necessity to recourse to a third party for the execution of the investigation activities”.

 

The activities provided by the Italian Agency for Ballistics in this branch consist in: 

¨ Analysis

The Agency studies the problem and, in relation with the theme to be analyzed, gives a look at all the available documentation, evaluates the operational conditions in which the activities under study go, talks with the involved people to define the causes of the problem, creates a data archive  with all the necessary information and decides if further elements, to be achieved with experimental activities, are necessary.

¨ Synthesis

The Agency on the basis of the gathered information or defines the causes of the problem or define if the idea, set as aim of the study, is achievable.

¨ Final proposals 

At the end of the study the Agency provide the Customer with a relation on the performed activities and proposes the problem's possible solutions highlighting their characteristics in terms of efficiency and efficacy.  

Appraisals and Feasibility with simulation of explosions

AGENZIA BALISTICA ITALIANA

Via Europa 16, cap. 19020  Follo (SP) - Italy

Cod. Fiscale BRSGNN64E06H501B  P.IVA: 01405330117

Tel: +39.0187599129

E-mail: bresciani@agenziabalistica.it

ww.agenziabalistica.it

- ITalian agency for Ballistics -

Propellant grains

Simulation of explosion near walls