Terminal Ballistics Research Laboratory (TBRL) is a laboratory of the

Defence Research and Development Organisation The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) (IAST: ''Raksā Anūsandhān Evam Vikās Sangaṭhan'') is the premier agency under the Department of Defence Research and Development in Ministry of Defence of the Government of India, ...

(DRDO) which comes under Ministry of Defence. Located in

Chandigarh Chandigarh () is a planned city in India. Chandigarh is bordered by the state of Punjab to the west and the south, and by the state of Haryana to the east. It constitutes the bulk of the Chandigarh Capital Region or Greater Chandigarh, which al ...

, the laboratory has become one of the major DRDO labs in the field of armament studies. TBRL is organized under the Armaments Directorate of DRDO. The present director of TBRL is Shri. Prateek Kishore.

History

TBRL was envisaged in 1961 as a modern armament research laboratory under the Department of Defence Research & Development. It became fully operational in 1967 and was formally inaugurated in January 1968 by the then

Defence Minister A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in s ...

.History of TBRL
While the main laboratory is situated in Chandigarh, the firing range, spread over an area of , is located at Ramgarh in

Haryana Haryana (; ) is an Indian state located in the northern part of the country. It was carved out of the former state of East Punjab on 1 Nov 1966 on a linguistic basis. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with less than 1.4% () of India's land ...

, 22 km away from Chandigarh.

Areas of work

TBRL conducts basic and applied research in the fields of

high explosives An explosive (or explosive material) is a reactive substance that contains a great amount of potential energy that can produce an explosion if released suddenly, usually accompanied by the production of light, heat, sound, and pressure. An expl ...

, detonics and

shock wave In physics, a shock wave (also spelled shockwave), or shock, is a type of propagating disturbance that moves faster than the local speed of sound in the medium. Like an ordinary wave, a shock wave carries energy and can propagate through a me ...

s. It is also involved in evolving data and design parameters for new armaments, as well as assessing the terminal effects of ammunition. Other Areas of work Include: :* Performance of armour defeating projectiles and immunity profiles :* Studies of ground shock, blast damage, fragmentation and lethality :* Preparation of safety templates for various weapons :* Studies of underwater detonics and pressure wave propagation :* Explosive forming, cladding and welding. :* Detonation dynamics of high explosives.

Projects and Products

TBRL is responsible for the development of

Explosive lens An explosive lens—as used, for example, in nuclear weapons—is a highly specialized shaped charge. In general, it is a device composed of several explosive charges. These charges are arranged and formed with the intent to control the shape ...

es for India's Nuclear weapons. These lenses were used on the Nuclear devices detonated in

Pokhran-I Operation Smiling BuddhaThis test has many code names. Civilian scientists called it "Operation Smiling Buddha" and the Indian Army referred to it as ''Operation Happy Krishna''. According to Military Intelligence Corps (United States Army), U ...

and

Pokhran-II The Pokhran-II tests were a series of five nuclear bomb Nuclear weapons testing, test explosions conducted by India at the Indian Army's Pokhran#Pokhran Nuclear Test Range, Pokhran Test Range in May 1998. It was the second instance of nuclear t ...

. Apart from this, TBRL also develops explosives-based products for conventional military and civilian use.TBRL Achievements
* Baffle Ranges/ Practice Firing Ranges for Small Arms - TBRL is the nodal agency in India for design & development of different types of baffle

ranges In the Hebrew Bible and in the Old Testament, the word ranges has two very different meanings. Leviticus In Leviticus 11:35, ranges probably means a cooking furnace for two or more pots, as the Hebrew word here is in the dual number; or perhaps ...

for

Small arms A firearm is any type of gun designed to be readily carried and used by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see Legal definitions). The first firearms originated in 10th-century China, when bamboo tubes ...

firing practice. This has reduced the area required as compared to conventional range. Consultancy for construction of such ranges is being provided to various units of Armed/Para-military forces. * Indigenous Plastic Bonded Explosive - Developed and established technology for Plastic Bonded Explosives (PBX), the latest class of HE compositions with high VOD and higher detonation pressures * Indigenous Digital Blast Data Recorder - This recorder was developed based on a new design technique, for direct measurement of important blast wave parameters * Indigenous Transducer for Blast-Measurement - Developed a blast pressure transducer for measuring pressures up to 14 kgm sqcm. It has a sensitivity of 1400 pc/kgm sqcm with a natural frequency of 200 kHz. These transducers are in regular production and being used by a no. of Laboratories. Impulse Generator : It has been developed for the simulation of impulse noise (=190 dB) and testing of artificial earplugs used by Armed Forces Medical Services * Impulse Generator- It has been developed for the simulation of impulse noise (=190 dB) and testing of artificial earplugs used by Armed Forces Medical Services * Bund Blasting Device (BBD) - Bund Blasting Device (BBD)Designed and developed Bund Blasting Device for breaching operation. *

Shivalik Multi Mode Grenade Shivalik may refer to: * Siwalik Hills, a series of ranges of outer foothills of Himalaya crossing Pakistan, India, Nepal, and Bhutan * ''Shivalik'' class frigate, a class of multi-role stealth frigates in service with the Indian Navy ** INS ''Sh ...

- Multi-mode hand grenade designed and developed with reliability >95%. *

Riot control Riot control measures are used by law enforcement, military, paramilitary or security forces to control, disperse, and arrest people who are involved in a riot, unlawful demonstration or unlawful protest. If a riot is spontaneous and irratio ...

Non-lethal Bullet - TBRL has designed and developed a non-lethal ammunition in two service calibres, a 7.62 mm and .303 inch for effective control of unruly rioting mobs. * IGLOO Magazine - A new construction technique of laced reinforced concrete construction in which continuous bent shear lacing along with longitudinal reinforcements on both faces of structure element are used for improving the ductility and energy absorbing capacity of the structure has been developed for a capacity of 5 Ton explosives. This design is being used by a no. of DRDO labs, Ordnance factories, DGQA and service depots. * Bulletproof Panels/Jackets testing - TBRL offers its expertise and specialised facilities for ballistic evaluation of bulletproof panels/helmets against various small arms ammunitions.TBRL Technologies available to the civilian sector

Technologies for Civilian use

TBRL has developed a Non-lethal

Plastic bullets A plastic bullet or plastic baton round (PBR) is a non-lethal projectile fired from a specialised gun. Although designed as a non-lethal weapon, they have caused a number of deaths when used incorrectly. Plastic bullets are generally used for ...

for use by paramilitary forces and police, including usage for crowd control in Jammu and Kashmir manufactured by the

Indian Ordnance Factories Ordnance Factory Board (OFB), consisting of the Indian Ordnance Factories, now known as Directorate of Ordnance (Coordination & Services) was an organisation, under the Department of Defence Production (DDP) of Ministry of Defence (MoD), Gover ...

References

External links