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At least 721 records · Page 40

Development of graphene nanoplatelet embedded polymer microcantilever for vapour phase explosive detection applications

In this work, a graphene based strain sensor has been reported for explosive vapour detection applications by exploiting the piezoresistive property of graphene. Instead of silicon based cantilevers, a low cost polymeric micro-cantilever platform has been used to fabricate this strain sensor by embedding the graphene nanoplatelet layer inside the beam. The fabricated devices were characterized for their mechanical and electromechanical behaviour. This device shows a very high gauge factor which is around ~144. Also the resonant frequency of these cantilevers is high enough such that the measurements are not affected by environmental noise. These devices have been used in this work for reliable detection of explosive vapours such as 2,4,6-Trinitrotoluene down to parts-per-billion concentrations in ambient conditions.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗

Formation of 2D nanoparticles with block structure in simultaneous electric explosion of conductors

A molecular dynamics simulation of nanoparticle formation in simultaneous electric explosion of conductors is performed. Interatomic interaction is described using potentials calculated in the framework of the embedded atom method. High-rate heating results in failure of the conductors with the formation of nanoparticles. The influence of the heating rate, temperature distribution over the specimen cross-section and the distance between simultaneously exploded conductors on the structure of formed nanoparticles is studied. The calculation results show that the electric explosion of conductors allows the formation of nanoparticles with block structure.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Explosive boiling of a metallic glass superheated by nanosecond pulse laser ablation

We report an explosive boiling in a Zr-based (Vitreloy 1) bulk metallic glass irradiated by a nanosecond pulse laser with a single shot. This critical phenomenon is accompanied by the ejection of high-temperature matter from the target and the formation of a liquid-gas spinodal pattern on the irradiated area. An analytical model reveals that the glassy target experiences the normal heating (melting) and significant superheating, eventually culminating in explosive boiling near the spinodal limit. Furthermore, the time lag of nucleation and the critical radius of vapor bubbles are theoretically predicted, which are in agreement with the experimental observations. This study provides the investigation on the instability of a metallic glass liquid near the thermodynamic critical temperature.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

The role of electro-explosion alloying with titanium diboride and treatment with pulsed electron beam in the surface modification of VT6 alloy

The paper presents the results of the investigation of VT6 titanium alloy subjected to electro-explosion alloying with TiB{sub 2} and irradiation with pulsed electron beam. It was established that electro-explosion alloying resulted in a high level of roughness of the surface layer with high adhesion of the modified layer and matrix. Further irradiation of the material with electron beam resulted in the smoothing of the surface of alloying and formation of a porous structure with various scale levels in the surface layer. It was also established that the energetic exposure causes the formation of a gradient structure with a changing elemental composition along the direction from the surface of alloying.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Surface modification of Ti alloy by electro-explosive alloying and electron-beam treatment

By methods of modern physical metallurgy the analysis of structure phase states of titanium alloy VT6 is carried out after electric explosion alloying with boron carbide and subsequent irradiation by pulsed electron beam. The formation of an electro-explosive alloying zone of a thickness up to 50 µm, having a gradient structure, characterized by decrease in the concentration of carbon and boron with increasing distance to the treatable surface has been revealed. Subsequent electron-beam treatment of alloying zone leads to smoothing of the alloying area surface and is accompanied by the multilayer structure formation at the depth of 30 µm with alternating layers with different alloying degrees having the structure of submicro - and nanoscale level.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Ion-coincidence momentum imaging of three-body Coulomb explosion of formaldehyde in ultrashort intense laser fields

Three-body Coulomb explosion of formaldehyde (H{sub 2}CO) in intense 7- and 35-fs laser fields (1.3 × 10{sup 15} W/cm{sup 2}) has been investigated by using ion-coincidence momentum imaging technique. Two types of explosion pathways from the triply charged state, H{sub 2}CO{sup 3+} → (i) H{sup +} + H{sup +} + CO{sup +} and (ii) H{sup +} + CH{sup +} + O{sup +}, have been identified. It is shown from the momentum correlation of the fragment ions of pathway (i), that the geometrical structure of the molecule is essentially frozen along the H-C-H bending coordinate for the 7-fs case. On the other hand, for a longer pulse duration (35 fs), structural deformation along the C-H stretching and H-C-H bending coordinates is identified, which is ascribed to the nuclear dynamics in the dication states populated within the laser pulse duration.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Emission current from a single micropoint of explosive emission cathode

Explosive emission cathodes (EECs) are widely used due to their large current. There has been much research on the explosive electron emission mechanism demonstrating that a current density of 10{sup 8}–10{sup 9 }A/cm{sup 2} is necessary for a micropoint to explode in several nanoseconds and the micropoint size is in micron-scale according to the observation of the cathode surface. This paper, however, makes an effort to research the current density and the micropoint size in another way which considers the space charge screening effect. Our model demonstrates that the relativistic effect is insignificant for the micropoint emission due to the small size of the micropoint and uncovers that the micron-scale size is an intrinsic demand for the micropoint to reach a space charge limited current density of 10{sup 8}–10{sup 9 }A/cm{sup 2}. Meanwhile, our analysis shows that as the voltage increases, the micropoint emission will turn from a field limited state to a space charge limited state, which makes the steady-state micropoint current density independent of the cathode work function and much less dependent on the electric field and the field enhancement factor than that predicted by the Fowler-Nordheim formula.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Invited Article: Quantitative imaging of explosions with high-speed cameras

Here, the techniques presented in this paper allow for mapping of temperature, pressure, chemical species, and energy deposition during and following detonations of explosives, using high speed cameras as the main diagnostic tool. Additionally, this work provides measurement in the explosive near to far-field (0-500 charge diameters) of surface temperatures, peak air-shock pressures, some chemical species signatures, shock energy deposition, and air shock formation.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

A numerical study of shock waves generated through laser ablation of explosives

Shock waves resulting from irradiation of energetic materials with a pulsed ultraviolet laser source have been shown to be an effective indicator for explosives detection. In this study, the features of shock wave propagation are explored theoretically. The initial stage of the shock motion is simulated as a one-dimensional process. As the nonlinear wave expands to form a blast wave, a system of conservation equations, simplified to the Euler equations, is employed to model wave propagation. The Euler equations are solved numerically by the 5th order weighted essentially non-oscillatory finite difference scheme with the time integration carried out using the 3rd order total variation diminishing Runge Kutta method. The numerical results for the shock wave evolution are compared with those obtained from experiments with a meltcast 2,6-dinitrotoluene sample. The calculations lay a theoretical foundation for a recently investigated technique for photoacoustically sensing explosives using a vibrometer.

45 MILITARY TECHNOLOGY, WEAPONRY, AND NATIONAL DEF↗

Alignment, orientation, and Coulomb explosion of difluoroiodobenzene studied with the pixel imaging mass spectrometry (PImMS) camera

Laser-induced adiabatic alignment and mixed-field orientation of 2,6-difluoroiodobenzene (C 6 H 3 F 2 I) molecules are probed by Coulomb explosion imaging following either near-infrared strong-field ionization or extreme-ultraviolet multi-photon inner-shell ionization using free-electron laser pulses. The resulting photoelectrons and fragment ions are captured by a double-sided velocity map imaging spectrometer and projected onto two position-sensitive detectors. The ion side of the spectrometer is equipped with a pixel imaging mass spectrometry camera, a time-stamping pixelated detector that can record the hit positions and arrival times of up to four ions per pixel per acquisition cycle. Thus, the time-of-flight trace and ion momentum distributions for all fragments can be recorded simultaneously. Finally, we show that we can obtain a high degree of one-and three-dimensional alignment and mixed-field orientation and compare the Coulomb explosion process induced at both wavelengths

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

The reactants equation of state for the tri-amino-tri-nitro-benzene (TATB) based explosive PBX 9502

The response of high explosives (HEs), due to mechanical and/or thermal insults, is of great importance for both safety and performance. A major component of how an HE responds to these stimuli stems from its reactant equation of state (EOS). In this study, the tri-amino-tri-nitro-benzene based explosive PBX 9502 is investigated by examining recent experiments. Furthermore, a complete thermal EOS is calibrated based on the functional form devised by Wescott, Stewart, and Davis [J. Appl. Phys. 98, 053514 (2005)]. It is found, by comparing to earlier calibrations, that a variety of thermodynamic data are needed to sufficiently constrain the EOS response over a wide range of thermodynamic state space. Included in the calibration presented here is the specific heat as a function of temperature, isobaric thermal expansion, and shock Hugoniot response. As validation of the resulting model, isothermal compression and isentropic compression are compared with recent experiments.

45 MILITARY TECHNOLOGY, WEAPONRY, AND NATIONAL DEF↗

Shock temperature dependent rate law for plastic bonded explosives

A reactive flow model for the tri-amino-tri-nitro-benzene (TATB) based plastic bonded explosive PBX 9502 (95% TATB, 5% polymeric binder Kel-F 800) is presented. This newly devised model is based primarily on the shock temperature of the material, along with local pressure, and accurately models a broader range of detonation and initiation scenarios. Specifically, sensitivity changes to the initial explosive temperature are accounted for naturally and with a single set of parameters. The equation of state forms for the reactants and products, as well as the thermodynamic closure of pressure and temperature equilibration, are carried over from the Wescott-Stewart-Davis (WSD) model [Wescott et al., J. Appl. Phys. 98, 053514 (2005) and “Modeling detonation diffraction and dead zones in PBX-9502,” in Proceedings of the Thirteenth International Detonation Symposium (2006)]. This newly devised model, with Arrhenius state dependence on the shock temperature, based on the WSD equation of states, is denoted by AWSD. In conclusion, modifying an existing implementation of the WSD model to the AWSD model in a hydrocode is a rather straightforward procedure.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Multi frame synchrotron radiography of pulsed power driven underwater single wire explosions

We present herein the first use of synchrotron-based phase contrast radiography to study pulsed-power driven high energy density physics experiments. Underwater electrical wire explosions have become of interest to the wider physics community due to their ability to study material properties at extreme conditions and efficiently couple stored electrical energy into intense shock waves in water. The latter can be shaped to provide convergent implosions, resulting in very high pressures (1-10 Mbar) produced on relatively small pulsed power facilities (100s of kA-MA). Multiple experiments have explored single-wire explosions in water, hoping to understand the underlying physics and better optimize this energy transfer process; however, diagnostics can be limited. Optical imaging diagnostics are usually obscured by the shock wave itself; and until now, diode-based X-ray radiography has been of relatively low resolution and rather a broad x-ray energy spectrum. Utilising phase contrast imaging capabilities of the ID19 beamline at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, we were able to image both the exploding wire and the shock wave. Probing radiation of 20-50 keV radiographed 200 μm tungsten and copper wires, in ~2-cm diameter water cylinders with resolutions of 8 μm and 32 μm. The wires were exploded by a ~30-kA, 500-ns compact pulser, and 128 radiographs, each with a 100-ps X-ray pulse exposure, spaced at 704 ns apart were taken in each experiment. Abel inversion was used to obtain the density profile of the wires, and the results are compared to two dimensional hydrodynamic and one dimensional magnetohydrodynamic simulations.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Hot-spot generation and growth in shocked plastic-bonded explosives studied by optical pyrometry

The aggregate behavior of hot spots in shocked plastic-bonded explosives (PBX) was studied by nanosecond optical pyrometry. The averaged thermal emission spectra from at least 25 tiny (50 μg) explosive charges of a pentaerythritol tetranitrate PBX, at several impact velocities from 1.5 to 4.5 km/s, was used to determine average temperatures and emissivities. Individual spectra were analyzed to determine the distribution of hot spot temperatures in individual charges with unique microstructures. Understanding shocks in tiny charges with different microstructures is needed to understand shocks in large PBX charges which sample many microstructures as they propagate. The initial hot spot density was several percent, and the average initial hot spot temperature of 4000 K was, surprisingly, independent of impact velocity. With underdriven shocks, the initial hot spot temperatures clustered around 4000 K, but with overdriven shocks, there were both hotter and colder hot spots. The initial hot spot density increased quadratically with impact velocity. The generation of hot spots was described by a model with a threshold energy to trigger hot spot formation and a distribution of energetic barriers to hot spot formation.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Pulsed power driven cylindrical wire array explosions in different media

Cylindrical copper wire array explosions were carried out in de-ionized water, sodium polytungstate solution, nitromethane, and polyester in order to obtain high energy density conditions in the vicinity of implosion using the generated converging shock waves. The utilization of different materials in which the array is immersed can contribute to this goal with higher density resulting in higher shock velocities and possible combustion. The generated shock waves were captured by a framing and a streak camera and shock velocities were calculated and compared. Pressure behind the shock front was calculated using known hydrodynamic relations (for water, polytungstate, and polyester) and compared to two-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations coupled with equations of state (for water and polyester). It was demonstrated that despite lower shock wave velocity in polytungstate solution than water, the pressures generated are similar in both materials. In polyester, both shock velocities and generated pressures are 2-4 times higher than in water. Furthermore, it was shown that it is possible to carry out these explosions in a solid which has several advantages compared to liquids, such as not relying on waterproof systems and easier transportation.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Features of explosion of thin aluminum foils on an 8 kA, 350 ns pulse generator

This paper presents the results of a study of the explosion of Al foils with a thickness of 4 μm on an 8 kA, 350 ns pulsed-power generator. The features of the energy deposition process in the explosion of foils in comparison with wires of similar mass and cross section, as well as with thin wires, are studied. In the experiments presented here, the dependence of the energy deposition in the foil on its initial structure was found. In conclusion, two types of exploded foil structure were recorded using point-projection radiography

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Shock compression response of an insensitive high explosive single crystal: 1,1-diamino-2,2-dinitroethene (FOX-7)

Insensitive high explosives (IHEs) – that do not compromise performance – are of immense interest as a safer alternative to conventional high explosives, such as pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN) and cyclotrimethylenetrinitramine (RDX). Despite the strong interest in using IHEs, shock compression experiments on IHE single crystals have not been reported. To address this need, plate impact experiments were conducted to measure wave profiles in 1,1-diamino-2,2-dinitroethene (FOX-7) single crystals – a representative IHE crystal – shocked to 21 GPa longitudinal stress. Particle velocity histories, measured using laser interferometry, show a clear two-wave structure (elastic-inelastic response) at modest stresses (<3.8 GPa). Wave profiles at higher stresses show a single (overdriven) wave. Measured shock velocities and wave profiles provide accurate Hugoniot data to 21 GPa. The measured wave profiles to 21 GPa show no sign of energy release due to chemical decomposition and constitute the first demonstration of an IHE single crystal insensitivity under plane shock compression. Numerical simulations using a phenomenological material model developed for FOX-7 showed good agreement with the measured wave profiles. The experimental results and continuum simulations presented here constitute a significant first step in gaining insight into the shock compression response of IHE single crystals.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Uncertainty quantification of material parameters in modeling coupled metal and high explosive experiments

Experiments involving the coupling of metal and high explosives (HE) are of notable defense-related interest, and we seek to refine the uncertainty quantification associated with models of such experiments. In particular, our focus is on how uncertainty related to the metal constitutive model challenges our ability to infer high explosive model parameters when analyzing focused science experiments. We consider three focused experiments involving an HE accelerating metal: small plate tests with tantalum/LX-14 and tantalum/LX-17 pairings as well as a tantalum/LX-17 cylinder test. For all three models, we perform sensitivity analysis to ascertain the influence of metal strength on the coupled experimental response. Moreover, we calibrate each model in a Bayesian setting and study the quantification of metal strength on the inference of the HE parameters. Based on our results, we offer guidance for future metal/HE experiments.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗