EFFECTS OF SOLID-MECHANIC PROPERTIES OF ENERGETIC MATERIALS ON MUNITION SENSITIVITY

TRADITIONALLY, THE DETONATION HAS BEEN TREATED BY THE SHOCK THEORY, AND EXPLOSIVES AND PROPELLANTS HAVE BEEN CONSIDERED AS ENERGETIC FLUIDS. MANY SOLID PROPERTIES HAVE NOT BEEN MEASURED AND ARE NOT AVAILABLE FROM THE HANDBOOKS. RECENT RESULTS IN MUNITION SENSITIVITY STUDIES SHOW THAT SHEARING IS ONE OF THE MAIN MECHANISMS IN CAUSING DETONATION, AND IS CONTROLLED BY CERTAIN SOLID PROPERTIES. IN THE PROPOSED PROGRAM, A SIMPLE EXPERIMENT WILL BE PERFORMED TO FURTHER CONFIRM THE SHEAR INITIATION THEORY. IN ADDITION, A STUDY WILL BE MADE TO IDENTIFY ALL SOLID PROPERTIES THAT MAY AFFECT THE SENSITIVITY OF ENERGETIC MATERIALS. THESE PROPERTIES INCLUDE: STRESS-STRAIN CURVE UNDER HYDROSTATIC PRESSURE, VISCOSITY, AND SPECIFIC HEATS. THE EFFECT OF INITIAL CRACK SIZE ON THE HOT SPOT GENERATION WILL ALSO BE STUDIED. TEST METHODS IN MEASURING THESE PROPERTIES WILL BE RECOMMENDED. HYDROCODES WILL BE MODIFIED TO INCLUDE THESE SOLID PROPERTIES, SUCH THAT THEY CAN BE USED AS DESIGN TOOLS FOR MUNITION SENSITIVITY CALCULATIONS. DYNA EAST HAS EXTENSIVE EXPERIENCE IN INSENSITIVE MUNITION RESEARCH, AND HAS STRONG BACKGROUND IN SOLID MECHANICS. IT ALSO HAS GOOD CONTACTS WITH DOD AND DOE LABORATORIES, AND IS BEST QUALIFIED TO CONDUCT THIS WORK.