2 research outputs found
Inhibition of Hotspot Formation in Polymer Bonded Explosives Using an Interface Matching Low Density Polymer Coating at the Polymer–Explosive Interface
In order to elucidate how shocks
in heterogeneous materials affect decomposition and reactive processes,
we used the ReaxFF reactive force field in reactive molecules dynamics
(RMD) simulations of the effects of strong shocks (2.5 and 3.5 km/s)
on a prototype polymer bonded explosive (PBX) consisting of cyclotrimethylene
trinitramine (RDX) bonded to hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene (HTPB).
We showed earlier that shock propagation from the high density RDX
to the low density polymer (RDX → Poly) across a nonplanar
periodic interface (sawtooth) leads to a hotspot at the initial asperity
but no additional hotspot at the second asperity. This hotspot arises
from shear along the interface induced by relaxation of the stress
at the asperity. We now report the case for shock propagation from
the low density polymer to the high density RDX (Poly → RDX)
where we find a hotspot at the initial asperity and a second more
dramatic hotspot at the second asperity. This second hotspot is enhanced
due to shock wave convergence from shock wave interaction with nonplanar
interfaces. We consider that this second hotspot is likely the source
of the detonation in realistic PBX systems. We showed how these hotspots
depend on the density mismatch between the RDX and polymer and found
that decreasing the density by a factor of 2 dramatically reduces
the hotspot. These results suggest that to make PBX less sensitive
for propellants and explosives, the binder should be designed to provide
low density at the asperity in contact with the RDX. Based on these
simulations, we propose a new design for an insensitive PBX in which
a low density polymer coating is deposited between the RDX and the
usual polymer binder. To test this idea, we simulated shock wave propagation
from two opposite directions (RDX → Poly and Poly →
RDX) through the interface matched PBX (IM-PBX) material containing
a 3 nm coating of low density (0.48 g/cm<sup>3</sup>) polymer. These
simulations showed that this IM-PBX design dramatically suppresses
hotspot formation
Bilayer Metasurfaces for Dual- and Broadband Optical Antireflection
Optical antireflection has long been
pursued for a wide range of applications, but existing approaches
encounter issues in the performance, bandwidth, and structure complexity,
particularly in the long-wavelength infrared regime. Here we present
the demonstration of bilayer metasurfaces that accomplish dual- and
broadband optical antireflection in the terahertz and mid-infrared
spectral ranges. By simply tailoring the structural geometry and dimensions,
we show that subwavelength metal/dielectric structures enable dramatic
reduction of Fresnel reflection and significant enhancement of transmission
at a substrate surface, operating either at two discrete narrow bands
or over a broad bandwidth up to 28%. We also use a semianalytical
interference model to interpret the obtained results, in which we
find that the dispersion of the constituent structures plays a critical
role in achieving the observed broadband optical antireflection