Structure of crystal defects in damaged RDX as revealed by an AFM
- Carderock Division Naval Surface Warfare Center, Bethesda, Maryland 20817 (United States)
An atomic force microscope (AFM) was employed to reveal the structure of defects produced in single crystals of cyclotrimethylenetrinitramine (RDX), damaged either by indentation, heat or underwater shock. In general, all of these stimuli produced dislocation pits, cracks, fissures and mosaics, however, the details were different. Indentation generated a large number of triangular dislocation pits, which in their turn produced fissures, cracks and holes by coalescing. Heat produced fine parallel cracks. Slivers as thin as sixty molecules across were observed. Shock caused the crystal to become a three-dimensional mosaic structure, 100-500 nm in size, produced by intensive cleavage and delamination. In all cases very fine particles, 20-500 nm in size, were ejected onto the surface as debris from the formation of defects. The AFM has revealed for the first time un-etched dislocation pits in their pristine condition, so that their internal structure could be investigated. A dislocation density of 10{sup 6} cm{sup -2} has been observed. RDX is found to behave like a very fragile crystal in which numerous imperfections show up at a level of the stimuli, far below that necessary for the start of chemical reaction.
- OSTI ID:
- 21185665
- Journal Information:
- AIP Conference Proceedings, Vol. 429, Issue 1; Conference: 10. American Physical Society topical conference on shock compression of condensed matter, Amherst, MA (United States), 27 Jul - 1 Aug 1997; Other Information: DOI: 10.1063/1.55701; (c) 1998 American Institute of Physics; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0094-243X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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