Void collapse generated meso-scale energy localization in shocked energetic materials: Non-dimensional parameters, regimes, and criticality of hotspots

Abstract

The formation of hotspots due to collapse of voids leads to enhanced sensitivity of heterogeneous energetic (HE) materials. Several mechanisms of void collapse have been identified, but the regimes in which these mechanisms dominate have not been clearly delineated using scaling arguments and dimensionless parameters. This paper examines void collapse in cyclotetramethylene-tetranitramine (HMX) to demarcate regimes where plastic collapse and hydrodynamic jetting play dominant roles in influencing hotspot related sensitivity. Using scaling arguments, a criticality envelope for HMX is derived in the form Σcr=∑(Ps,Dvoid), i.e., as a function of shock pressure Ps and void size Dvoid, which are controllable design parameters. Once a critical hotspot forms, its subsequent growth displays a complex relationship to Ps and Dvoid. These complexities are explained with scaling arguments that clarify the physical mechanisms that predominate in various regimes of hotspot formation. The insights and scaling laws obtained can be useful in the design of HE materials.