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3D micromechanical simulation of PBX composites

Previous research studied the constitutive response and interface strength of a bonded bicrystal system containing two HMX explosive grains bound with a HTPB polymer binder by performing FE simulations on real geometry imaged with micro Computed Tomography (µCT). The parameters generated from this past study were successfully applied to 2D mesoscale simulations of µCT imaged HMX-HTPB polycrystal samples. Presently, the mechanical response of PBXs containing a Nitro-Plasticized Estane (NPE) binder with similar microstructural geometry to the HMX-HTPB polycrystal samples were studied. Imaging of a HMX-NPE bicrystal sample allowed for simulation of the new material pairing. However, imaging using µCT techniques on the new polycrystal samples was difficult due to the decrease in contrast between the HMX grains and the NPE binder. Mesoscale polycrystal simulations utilizing a single µCT imaged microstructure were performed on a 3D representative volume element (RVE) comparing the delamination behavior and mechanical response of both HMX-HTPB and HMX-NPE PBXs. Furthermore, this technique shows the ability to virtually explore the mechanical response of a range of hypothetical materials that share common microstructural geometric characteristics in addition to studying numerically altered geometries.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Exfoliation of surfactant swollen layered MWW zeolites into two-dimensional zeolite nanosheets using telechelic liquid polybutadiene

We report two-dimensional (2D) zeolites have the potential to enhance mass transport by reducing diffusion lengths and thus find applications in catalysis and separation. High aspect ratio 2D zeolite nanosheets are required for fabrication of thin, high-flux zeolite membranes. Preparation of 2D zeolite nanosheets can be achieved by exfoliation of layered zeolite precursors, which usually requires multiple steps including swelling with cationic surfactants, exfoliation by applying a mechanical force such as shearing or sonication, purification and removal of the surfactants. The exfoliation of surfactant swollen layered zeolite precursors has been studied using molten polystyrene and telechelic liquid polybutadiene, but still requires extensive shearing force. Recently, a novel one-step exfoliation method has been developed for nonswollen MWW zeolite precursors using tetrabutylammonium hydroxide (TBAOH) solution. In this work, we study the exfoliation of surfactant swollen MWW layered precursors (with and without aluminum) in commercially available liquid hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene (HTPB) with the aim to provide fundamental understanding of the interaction between the liquid polybutadiene and the surfactant swollen layered zeolite precursors. It was found that surfactant swollen ITQ-1, (ITQ-1(S)), a pure silica layered precursor with MWW framework after being swollen with a cationic surfactant, can be exfoliated in liquid HTPB at room temperature without applying any additional shearing force. The aluminum containing surfactant swollen MWW precursors can be also exfoliated in HTPB at room temperature, but require additional shearing forces. The exfoliation process was monitored using rheology experiments and studied by tuning the composition of the zeolite precursors. The interaction between the layered zeolite precursor and the hydroxyl group of the liquid polybutadiene allows the polymer to intercalate the precursor and exfoliate it into nanosheets. The presence of framework aluminum and the nature of the organic structure directing agents (OSDAs) are key parameters affecting the exfoliation process. Framework Al is unfavorable for the exfoliation possibly due to the surface charges introduced by the aluminum. Bulky OSDA, trimethyladamantammonium (TMAda + ), in the interlayer spacing may facilitate the exfoliation.

2D nanosheets↗

Effect of void positioning on the detonation sensitivity of a heterogeneous energetic material

We show although it is well-established that voids profoundly influence the initiation and reaction behaviors of heterogeneous energetic materials such as polymer-bonded explosives (PBX) and propellants, there has been little study of how void location in different constituents in the microstructures of such materials affect the macroscale behavior. Here, we use three-dimensional (3D) mesoscale simulations to study how void placement within the reactive grains versus the polymer binder influences the shock-to-detonation transition (SDT) in a polymer-bonded explosive. The material studied here has a microstructure comprised of 75% PETN (pentaerythritol tetranitrate) grains and 25% HTPB (hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene) polymer binder by volume. Porosities up to 10% in the form of spherical voids distributed in both the grains and polymer are considered. An Arrhenius reactive burn relation is used to model the chemical kinetics of the PETN grains under shock loading, thereby resolving the heterogeneous detonation behavior of the PBX. The influence of void location on the shock initiation sensitivity of the material is quantitatively ranked by comparing the predicted run distance to detonation (RDD) for each sample. The analysis includes inherent quantification of uncertainties arising from the stochastic variations in the microstructure morphologies and void distributions by using statistically equivalent microstructure sample sets (SEMSS), leading to probabilistic formulations for the RDD as a function of shock pressure. The calculations reveal that the location of voids in the composite microstructure significantly affects the RDD. Specifically, voids exclusively within the grains cause the PBX to be more sensitive (having shorter RDD) than voids in the polymer binder. Unique probabilistic relationships are derived to map the probability of observing RDD for each void location material case, allowing for prediction of initiation behavior anywhere in the shock pressure – RDD space. These findings agree with trends reported in the literature.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Supplementary material for manuscript: Microcomputed X-ray Tomographic Imaging and Image Processing for Microstructural Characterization of Explosives

This data contains the supplemental information that will be accessible to the public from the paper “Microcomputed X-ray Tomographic Imaging and Image Processing for Microstructural Characterization of Explosives”. The data set contains the reconstructed slices for the 3D images of three different high explosives including: HMX-HTPB, PBX 9501 and PBX 9502. The data sets are folders of reconstructed tiffs showing the microstructure (crystals, binder, voids) and a segmented data set of each. Finally, a .gif movie is also present that plays the slices sequentially. The folders contain the voxel size information. See the manuscript for more details.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗