NQR Characteristics of an RDX Plastic Explosives Simulant

For reliable detection of explosives, a combination of methods integrated within a single measurement platform may increase detection performance. However, the efficient field testing of such measurement platforms requires the use of inexplosive simulants that are detectable by a wide range of methods. Physical parameters such as simulant density, elemental composition and crystalline structure must closely match those of the target explosive. The highly discriminating bulk detection characteristics of nuclear quadrupole resonance (NQR) especially constrain simulant design. This paper describes the development of an inexplosive RDX simulant suited to a wide range of measurement methods, including NQR. Measurements are presented that confirm an RDX NQR response from the simulant. The potential use of the simulant for field testing a prototype handheld NQR-based RDX detector is analyzed. Only modest changes in prototype operation during field testing would be required to account for the use of simulant rather than real explosive.