Seher Ozkan1, Dilhan Kalyon1, James E. Kowalczyk2, Halil Gevgilili1, Mark Mezger3, and Cenker Demir1. (1) Stevens Institute of Technology, Castle Point St., Hoboken, NJ 07030, (2) Material Processing & Research, Inc., 31 Mercer St. 2-E, Hackensack, NJ 07601, (3) US Army Research Development Engineering Command, US Army, Picatinny Arsenal, Dover, NJ 07806-5000
The safe processing of energetic materials with unknown safety characteristics requires that the distance and quantity rules be strictly observed. However, generally processing of limited quantities under industrially relevant mixing and processing conditions is not possible (hand mixing of small specimens is common). Here a 7.5 mm twin screw extruder (explosion proof and the smallest twin screw extruder in the World) is described along with typical data collected on the dispersion of various nanoparticles. In spite of its size, processing under industrially relevant vacuum, dispersion, melting, mixing, shaping are possible with this novel manufacturing and sample preparation platform.