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Title: A Thermal and Nanomechanical Study of Molecular Crystals as Versatile Mocks for Pentaerythritol Tetranitrate

Journal Article · · Crystals
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Pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN) is a commonly used high explosive (HE) in detonators. Often, surrogate or “mock” materials are used in place of HE for mechanical tests, proofing out equipment, or developing new diagnostics. However, there is no commonly accepted mock for PETN. A good mock should match at least one physical property of the target material, and ideally mimic multiple thermal and mechanical properties. Here, we investigate several molecular crystals to evaluate their efficacy in mocking PETN density, melting point, elastic modulus, hardness, plastic deformation, and fracture behavior. Materials were tested with a combination of calorimetry and nanoindentation. Two materials, 2,4,6-trifluorobenzoic acid (246 TFBA) and mesoerythritol, were downselected for detailed indentation study after the initial round of screening experiments, both were found to mimic PETN mechanical behavior quite well, 246 TFBA closer to PETN in most properties (hardness, modulus, and density) than erythritol, but erythritol having advantages in relative cost and matching the onset of yield. Depending on the desired implementation of the mock, one material may be preferred over the other, but both have potential as generic mocks for PETN. Nanoindentation is demonstrated as a versatile tool to provide rapid screening of these materials’ mechanical properties.

Research Organization:
Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)
Grant/Contract Number:
89233218NCNA000001; 89233218CNA000001
OSTI ID:
1601008
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1630888
Report Number(s):
LA-UR-20-20788; CRYSBC; PII: cryst10020126
Journal Information:
Crystals, Journal Name: Crystals Vol. 10 Journal Issue: 2; ISSN 2073-4352
Publisher:
MDPICopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
Germany
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 5 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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Figures / Tables (12)

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Figure 2(p. 5)figure Figure 2
Table 1(p. 6)table Table 1
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Table 3(p. 8)table Table 3
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Figure 8(p. 13)figure Figure 8
Figure 9(p. 14)figure Figure 9

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nanoindentation
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