Centre for Ordnance Science & Technology
The Centre for Ordnance Science and Technology is a world leader in the areas of ordnance and explosives science and technology. It is responsible for the design and delivery of specialist postgraduate education on all aspects of ordnance and ammunition science and technologies and offers a wide range of specialist short courses either at Shrivenham or off site. Its customer base is wide, with students being drawn from defence forces, defence industry, civil service, police forces and other emergency services both from the UK and overseas.
The Centre has a unique capability for a university. The COTEC Test and Evaluation facility on Salisbury Plain allows the Centre to test and characterise explosives and complete weapons. The Energetic Materials Test Facility and ranges at Shrivenham are well equipped for testing explosives and explosive devices components. Licensed facilities exist for the manufacture, breakdown and storage of explosive items. The Centre also makes extensive use of the ballistics ranges at Shrivenham,and at our COTEC facility to examine the performance of small arms and medium calibre ordnance. The Dynamic Response facility has some of the largest and most sophisticated gas guns in the world. Here we can examine the high strain rate behaviour of materials in targets and projectiles and are uniquely able to examine the high strain rate behaviour of explosives.
The staff are from diverse backgrounds, from universities, industry, the armed forces and the police, and have deep and broad expertise to support their teaching, research and consultancy activities.
Ammunition Systems and Explosives Technology Group
Cranfield Ordnance Test and Evaluation Facility - COTEC
Shrivenham Explosives Test House
Professor Stephen G Murray
T: +44 (0)1793 785681
E: s.g.murray@cranfield.ac.uk
