Propagation of Reactions in Thermally-damaged PBX-9501
A thermally-initiated explosion in PBX-9501 (octahydro-1,3,5,7-tetranitro-1,3,5,7-tetrazocine) is observed in situ by flash x-ray imaging, and modeled with the LLNL multi-physics arbitrary-Lagrangian-Eulerian code ALE3D. The containment vessel deformation provides a useful estimate of the reaction pressure at the time of the explosion, which we calculate to be in the range 0.8-1.4 GPa. Closely-coupled ALE3D simulations of these experiments, utilizing the multi-phase convective burn model, provide detailed predictions of the reacted mass fraction and deflagration front acceleration. During the preinitiation heating phase of these experiments, the solid HMX portion of the PBX-9501 undergoes a {beta}-phase to {delta}-phase transition which damages the explosive and induces porosity. The multi-phase convective burn model results demonstrate that damaged particle size and pressure are critical for predicting reaction speed and violence. In the model, energetic parameters are taken from LLNL's thermochemical-kinetics code Cheetah and burn rate parameters from Son et al. (2000). Model predictions of an accelerating deflagration front are in qualitative agreement with the experimental images assuming a mode particle diameter in the range 300-400 {micro}m. There is uncertainty in the initial porosity caused by thermal damage of PBX-9501 and, thus, the effective surface area for burning. To better understand these structures, we employ x-ray computed tomography (XRCT) to examine the microstructure of PBX-9501 before and after thermal damage. Although lack of contrast between grains and binder prevents the determination of full grain size distribution in this material, there are many domains visible in thermally damaged PBX-9501 with diameters in the 300-400 {micro}m range.
- Research Organization:
- Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-7405-ENG-48
- OSTI ID:
- 978395
- Report Number(s):
- LLNL-PROC-425205
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
ACCELERATION
BINDERS
COMPUTERIZED TOMOGRAPHY
CONTAINMENT
DEFORMATION
DISTRIBUTION
EXPLOSIONS
EXPLOSIVES
GRAIN SIZE
HEATING
LAWRENCE LIVERMORE NATIONAL LABORATORY
MICROSTRUCTURE
PARTICLE SIZE
POROSITY
SURFACE AREA
VELOCITY