No abstract

We measure the deflagration behavior of energetic materials at extreme conditions (up to 520K and 1 GPa) in the LLNL High Pressure Strand Burner, thereby obtaining reaction rate data for prediction of violence of thermal explosions. The apparatus provides both temporal pressure history and flame time-of-arrival information during deflagration, allowing direct calculation of deflagration rate as a function of pressure. Samples may be heated before testing. Here we report the deflagration behavior of several HMX-based explosives at pressures of 10-600 MPa and temperatures of 300-460 K. We find that formulation details are very important to overall deflagration behavior. Formulations with high binder content (>15 wt%) deflagrate smoothly over the entire pressure range regardless of particle size, with a larger particle size distribution leading to a slower reaction. The deflagration follows a power law function with the pressure exponent being unity. Formulations with lower binder content (< 10% or less by weight) show physical deconsolidation at pressures over 100-200 MPA, with transition to a rapid erratic deflagration 10-100 times faster. High temperatures have a relatively minor effect on the deflagration rate until the HMX β→δ phase transition occurs, after which the deflagration rate increases by more than a factor of 10.

, an HMX-formulation, is thermally damaged and thermally decomposed in order to determine the morphological changes and decomposition kinetics that occur in the material after mild to moderate heating. The material and its constituents were decomposed using standard thermal analysis techniques (DSC and TGA) and the decomposition kinetics are reported using different kinetic models. Pressed parts and prill were thermally damaged, i.e. heated to temperatures that resulted in material changes but did not result in significant decomposition or explosion, and analyzed. In general, the thermally damaged samples showed a significant increase in porosity and decrease in density and a small amount of weight loss. These PBXN-9 samples appear to sustain more thermal damage than similar HMX-Viton A formulations and the most likely reasons are the decomposition/evaporation of a volatile plasticizer and a polymorphic transition of the HMX from  to  phase.

RM-04-BR, a mock material for the plastic-bonded HMX-based explosive LX-04, is characterized after being thermally damaged at 140 °C and 190 °C. We measured the following material properties before and after the thermal experiments: sample volume, density, sound speed, and gas permeability in the material. Thermal treatment of the mock material leads to de-coloring and insignificant weight loss. Sample expanded, resulting in density reductions of 1.0% to 2.5% at 140 °C and 190 °C, respectively. Permeability in the mock samples was found to increase from 10 -15 to 10 -16 m 2 , as the porosity increased. The permeability measurements are well represented by the BlakeKozeny equation for laminar flow through porous media. The results are similar to the gas permeability in PBX-9501 obtained by other researchers [1,2].

The National Ignition Facility will require hundreds of very large single crystals (boules) of KDP and KD*P for the amplifier and frequency conversion optics. Rapid growth now routinely produces 250-300 kg boules of KDP. Technical hurdles overcome during the past year include inclusion formation and spurious nucleation. Areas of continued interest are control of asymmetry and aspect ratio.Variations in KDP concentration on the pm scale at the growing crystal steps can cause inclusions of growth solution. Microscopic investigations, hydrodynamic modeling, and theoretical modeling have been combined to provide a good mechanistic understanding of the formation of inclusions. Modifications to rotation regimes to improve hydrodynamics can eliminate or minimize the effects of these instability mechanisms, and can increase the inclusion-free growth rate by 20-40% over previously observed growth rates.Aspect ratio and boule asymmetry remains of great interest. Small changes in asymmetry can result in significant increases in maximum yields for boules of the same mass. Reasons for the observed changes in aspect ratio during growth will be presented, along with methods to control or influence aspect ratio and boule asymmetry.