Shock Initiation of Heterogeneous Explosives
The fundamental picture that shock initiation in heterogeneous explosives is caused by the linking of hot spots formed at inhomogeneities was put forward by several researchers in the 1950's and 1960's, and more recently. Our work uses the computer hardware and software developed in the Advanced Simulation and Computing (ASC) program of the U.S. Department of Energy to explicitly include heterogeneities at the scale of the explosive grains and to calculate the consequences of realistic although approximate models of explosive behavior. Our simulations are performed with ALE-3D, a three-dimensional, elastic-plastic-hydrodynamic Arbitrary Lagrange-Euler finite-difference program, which includes chemical kinetics and heat transfer, and which is under development at this laboratory. We developed the parameter values for a reactive-flow model to describe the non-ideal detonation behavior of an HMX-based explosive from the results of grain-scale simulations. In doing so, we reduced the number of free parameters that are inferred from comparison with experiment to a single one - the characteristic defect dimension. We also performed simulations of the run to detonation in small volumes of explosive. These simulations illustrate the development of the reaction zone and the acceleration of the shock front as the flame fronts start from hot spots, grow, and interact behind the shock front. In this way, our grain-scale simulations can also connect to continuum experiments directly.
- Research Organization:
- Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-7405-ENG-48
- OSTI ID:
- 15014245
- Report Number(s):
- UCRL-PROC-204120; TRN: US0801209
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: Presented at: International Conference New Models and Hydrocodes for Shock Wave Processes, College Park, MD, United States, May 16 - May 20, 2004
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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