Working at LLNL’s High Explosives Applications Facility (HEAF), our chemists have developed “insensitive” high explosives that are much less likely to accidentally detonate than conventional explosives used in most weapons. A nuclear weapon’s detonation process cannot occur without a precision-designed high explosive creating the main charge. Our team performs ongoing experiments to understand the element’s aging process and dynamic behavior. Over time, changes in plutonium’s chemical structure (or phase) could compromise weapons performance. This advanced computational power enables scientists to integrate disparate information into an assessment of weapon system performance, margins, and uncertainties. In the absence of experimental testing, we develop three-dimensional simulations and other computational tools. Routine surveillance, diagnostic tools, and new techniques such as additive manufacturing help our team forecast and detect material-related problems earlier. Our stewardship efforts face challenges with aging materials, older designs, and obsolescent parts for weapons with a 20-year service life. LLNL researchers produced a silicone cushion with programmable mechanical energy absorption properties through a three-dimensional printing process using a silicone-based ink. Life-extension programs necessitate the adoption of new manufacturing processes such as additive manufacturing. For this program to succeed, all aspects of weapons must be understood in sufficient detail so experts can evaluate weapon performance with confidence and make informed decisions about refurbishing, remanufacturing, or replacing weapons as needs arise. The Stockpile Stewardship Program is an ambitious effort to improve the science and technology for assessing an aging nuclear weapons stockpile without relying on nuclear testing. In 1995, the Stockpile Stewardship Program (SSP) was born. stockpile of weapons is smaller than it used to be, nuclear deterrence remains an integral part of national security policy. The end of the nuclear arms race dramatically affected the nation’s three weapon laboratories-Livermore, Los Alamos, and Sandia-but their central missions remain focused on national security science and technology. In 1992, nuclear weapon development ceased with a national moratorium on nuclear testing. Since the Cold War, United States policy has pivoted from production to maintenance of the nation’s nuclear stockpile. Flight tests such as this provide data on the performance of key warhead components in real environments, making this a valuable element in our annual assessment process.
A flight test of an unarmed Minuteman III missile carrying an instrumented mock W87 warhead was successfully launched.
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