Roles of the Interphase Stiffness and Percolation on the Behavior of Solid Propellants

Atomic force microscopy has provided access to local moduli for propellants prepared with bonding agents, which create a stiffness gradient in the matrix producing a stiffer interphase surrounding the fillers. The reinforcing impact of the bonding agent appears up to some distance and interphase percolation is observed. In order to better understand the impact of bonding agents on the stress and strain at break of propellants, finite element simulations are performed. Two-dimensional periodic cells containing randomly dispersed particles are considered, including both a cohesive zone model at the filler/matrix interface to account for possible debonding and an interphase that percolates or not. The influence of the interphase stiffness and of its percolation, on the stress and strain at break of the model propellants are evaluated through the use of a microstructure-based failure criterion

A combined experimental and theoretical study of small and large vacancy clusters in tungsten

Publisher Copyright: © 2022 The AuthorsTungsten is considered to be used in the future fusion reactors as plasma-facing material. In such ex-treme environments, defects are induced in materials that modify their macroscopic properties such as the mechanical ones. It is of paramount importance to be able to determine concentration and size of the vacancy defects, from the mono vacancy to the large cavities, to validate the models developed to predict the evolution of the microstructure of irradiated materials. Positrons are very useful non-destructive probes that can characterize vacancy-type defects in materials. We present a combined ex-perimental and theoretical study on detecting and estimating the sizes of vacancy clusters that are invis-ible with electron microscopy in tungsten, using positron annihilation spectroscopy. We here model the positron annihilation in the tungsten lattice and in vacancy-type defects using state-of-the-art first prin-ciples methodology. The Doppler broadening spectra and positron lifetimes in tungsten are calculated with two-component density functional theory with local density approximation and weighted density approximation. Our calculations are in excellent agreement with our experimental results. We show that the sizes of vacancy clusters in tungsten can be well estimated by combining both positron lifetimes and Doppler broadening spectra. We also determine the limit of validity of the canonical calculation method, which here is shown to fail when the vacancy clusters grow beyond their nucleation stage. This work is a first step needed to better interpret the measured positron annihilation characteristics (Doppler and lifetime) in tungsten and then extract quantitative data on small vacancy defects required to improve the understanding of early-stage vacancy defect evolution in tungsten. The method used in this paper could be used to study other metallic materials.(c) 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.This is an open access article under the CC BY license ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ )Peer reviewe

A numerical study of the influence of polydispersity on the behaviour until break of a reinforced hyperelastic material with a cohesive interface

Solid propellants manufacturers commonly monitor the granulometries of the explosive fllers they introduce in the material to pack high fller volume fraction and thus obtain satisfactory energetic performance. However, to our knowledge, the effect of a mix of small and large particles in the micrometric size range in flled elastomers has not yet been fully understood. This work aims at producing a better understanding of the underlying mechanisms that take place in a bidisperse flled elastomer composite under uniaxial loading by using finite element simulations. An original process for creating bidisperse microstructures is proposed and analyzed. The key role of the fller/matrix interface is emphasized through the use of a cohesive zone model. Plane- strain simulations in uniaxial tension of such cells with different fractions of large and small particles are performed

On the account of a cohesive interface for modeling the behavior until break of highly filled elastomers

The nonlinear behavior and failure of highly filled elastomers are significantly impacted by the volume fraction, the size and nature of fillers and the matrix stiffness. Original experimental data obtained on glass beads reinforced acrylates and on propellants allow illustrating and discussing the main effects generally observed. In order to better understand the effects of the microstructure and constitutive parameters on the behavior and failure of highly filled elastomers, a composite model, represented by a 2D periodic cell with randomly dispersed particles, with an account of a cohesive zone at the filler/matrix interface is used. Finite element simulations with finite strain provide insight on the stress-strain responses dependence to the model parameters and allow defining a failure criterion perceived by the appearance of a critical fibrillar microstructure

Surface blistering and flaking of sintered uranium dioxide samples under high dose gas implantation and annealing

International audienceHigh helium contents will be generated within minor actinide doped uranium dioxide blankets which could be used in fourth generation reactors. In this framework, it is essential to improve our understanding of the type of damage which a pellet could incur as a result of extensive helium build-up. This paper is an attempt at tackling this issue. Sintered uranium dioxide disks have been implanted with helium ions then annealed at various temperatures. Above a concentration of 0.4 at.% and above 1000°C, optical images of the sample surface revealed swollen grains and extensive areas which have exfoliated. Nuclear reaction microanalyses and atomic force microscopy observations were performed to demonstrate that helium has substantially precipitated within the swollen grains. Massive precipitation of the gas leads under these conditions to sample surface blistering which appears to precede flaking. Deuterium ion irradiations have also been performed at ambient and a direct flaking of the sample surface was observed, but for this phenomenon to be observed required much higher doses than in the He study, indicating that temperature could be an essential ingredient for gas to migrate and cause extensive precipitation. Such phenomena could possibly lead to degradation of the fuel

Propellant cohesive fracture during the peel test of a propellant/liner structure

The integrity of propellant/liner structures in rocket motors is critical to ensure controlled combustion of the engine. In an effort to improve the bonding between the liner and the propellant, it is necessary to characterize it well. Therefore, a propellant–liner structure, bounded thanks to co-curing, has been submitted to a peel test while recording the macroscopic fracture energy and the local displacement field on the propellant-free surface. The experimental setup includes two cameras in order to record the displacement field on the propellant-free surface. Upon loading, the peel force stabilizes quickly due to a cohesive fracture in the propellant, providing access to the fracture energy. While the crack propagates through the propellant, it is observed that only a small localized area is submitted to strain, and most of the structure remains unstrained

Effects of small particles on the mechanical behavior and on the local damage of highly filled elastomers

The mechanical behavior and damage of highly filled elastomers such as propellants is studied experimentally. A model material made of a polyacrylate matrix filled with glass beads and energetic binders filled with ammonium perchlorate and HMX have been formulated. The focus is on materials containing micrometric size particles. The size of fillers was varied from a few microns to hundreds of microns in order to study the impact of the size of particles. The materials stress-strain responses and the volume changes during uniaxial tensile tests have been recorded. Microtomographic slices of strained samples have been obtained in order to look at the type of damage sustained by the acrylate/glass bead materials. It appears that in the presence of large particles, composites showing early prominent crack benefits from the addition of small particles, whereas composites showing well dispersed matrix/particle decohesion without large cracks show no change of behavior when small particles are added.financement DG

Roles of the Interphase Stiffness and Percolation on the Behavior of Solid Propellants

Atomic force microscopy has provided access to local moduli for propellants prepared with bonding agents, which create a stiffness gradient in the matrix producing a stiffer interphase surrounding the fillers. The reinforcing impact of the bonding agent appears up to some distance and interphase percolation is observed. In order to better understand the impact of bonding agents on the stress and strain at break of propellants, finite element simulations are performed. Two-dimensional periodic cells containing randomly dispersed particles are considered, including both a cohesive zone model at the filler/matrix interface to account for possible debonding and an interphase that percolates or not. The influence of the interphase stiffness and of its percolation, on the stress and strain at break of the model propellants are evaluated through the use of a microstructure-based failure criterion

Positronium reemission yield from mesostructured silica films

The reemission yield of ortho-positronium (o-Ps) into vacuum outside mesoporous silica films on glass is measured in reflection mode with a specially designed lifetime (LT) spectrometer. Values as high as 40% are found. The intensity of the 142 ns vacuum LT is recorded as a function of reemission depth. The LT depth profiling is correlated to the 2gamma and 3gamma energy ones to determine the annihilation characteristics inside the films. Positron lifetime in capped films is used to determine the pore size. For the first time, a set of consistent fingerprints for Ps annihilation, o-Ps reemission into vacuum, and pore size, is directly determined in CTACl-TEOS films

Platicizer effect on network structure and hydrolytic degradation

The hydrolytic degradation of fully cured polyester-urethane networks polymerized in the presence of several weight ratios of triacetin was monitored by the residual concentration in elastically active chains obtained from modulus and equilibrium solvent swelling measurements. The presence of triacetin does not change the water uptake but induces a lower rate of degradation. Comparisons were performed with networks in which triacetin was removed before ageing, and with networks in which polyester-urethane was first polymerized and then impregnated by triacetin. Data suggest that the presence of triacetin during polymerization induces the presence of elastically inactive chains such as dangling chains, loops… the hydrolysis of which does not change the elastic properties of the network. This explanation was checked from relaxation measurements by n.m.r and d.m.a, and by the analysis of the soluble fraction generated by hydrolysis