skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Refractive Imaging of Air Shock Above Microscale Defects in Pentaerythritol Tetranitrate (PETN) Films

Journal Article · · Propellants, Explosives, Pyrotechnics
 [1];  [2];  [2];  [3];  [2];  [2];  [2];  [2]
  1. Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); New Mexico Inst. of Mining and Technology, Socorro, NM (United States)
  2. Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)
  3. New Mexico Inst. of Mining and Technology, Socorro, NM (United States)

Physical vapor deposition (PVD) of high explosives can produce energetic samples with unique microstructure and morphology compared to traditional powder processing techniques, but challenges may exist in fabricating explosive films without defects. Deposition conditions and substrate material may promote microcracking and other defects in the explosive films. Here, we investigate effects of engineered microscale defects (gaps) on detonation propagation and failure for pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN) films using ultra-high-speed refractive imaging and hydrocode modelling. Observations of the air shock above the gap reveal significant instabilities during gap crossing and re-ignition.

Research Organization:
Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA); USDOE Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) Program
Grant/Contract Number:
AC04-94AL85000; NA0003525
OSTI ID:
1721590
Report Number(s):
SAND-2020-9109J; 690280
Journal Information:
Propellants, Explosives, Pyrotechnics, Vol. 46, Issue 1; ISSN 0721-3115
Publisher:
WileyCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

References (11)

A Computational Approach to Edge Detection journal November 1986
The Composition of Metal Surfaces After Atmospheric Exposure: An Historical Perspective journal April 2008
On the effect of grain size on shock sensitivity of heterogeneous high explosives journal April 1997
CTH: A three-dimensional shock wave physics code journal January 1990
Schlieren and Shadowgraph Techniques book January 2001
Shock Initiation of Solid Explosives journal January 1961
Critical detonation thickness in vapor-deposited pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN) films
  • Tappan, Alexander S.; Knepper, Robert; Wixom, Ryan R.
  • SHOCK COMPRESSION OF CONDENSED MATTER - 2011: Proceedings of the Conference of the American Physical Society Topical Group on Shock Compression of Condensed Matter, AIP Conference Proceedings https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3686369
conference January 2012
Application of dynamic scaling to the surface properties of organic thin films: Energetic materials journal February 2011
Nucleation and growth of thin films journal January 1988
The Stability of Detonation. journal August 1949
Controlling the microstructure of vapor-deposited pentaerythritol tetranitrate films journal June 2011