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Polymer bonded explosives (PBXs) are particulate composites containing explosive particles and a continuous binder. The elastic modulus of the particles, at room temperature and higher, is often three to four orders of magnitude higher than that of the binder. Additionally, the explosive particles occupy high volume fractions, often greater than 90%. Both experimental and numerical determination of macroscopic properties of these composites is difficult. High modulus contrast mock PBXs provide a means of relatively inexpensive experimentation and validation of numerical approaches to determine properties of these materials. The goal of this investigation is to determine whether the effective elastic properties of monodisperse glass-estane mock PBXs can be predicted from two-dimensional micromechanics simulations using the finite element (FEM) method. In this study, the effect of representative volume element (RVE) size on the prediction of two-dimensional properties is explored. Two-dimensional estimates of elastic properties are compared with predictions from three-dimensional computations and with experimental data on glass-estane composites containing three different volume fractions of spherical glass beads. The effect of particle debonding on the effective elastic properties is also investigated using contact analyses. Results show that two-dimensional unit cells containing 10-20 circular particles are adequate for modelling glass-estane composites containing less than 60% glass particles by volume. No significant difference is observed between properties predicted by the two-and three-dimensional models. FEM simulations of RVEs, containing particles that are perfectly bonded to the binder, produce estimates of Young's modulus that are higher than the experimental data. Incorporation of debonding between particles and the binder causes the effective Young's modulus to decrease. However, the results suggest that cracks in the composite may play a 3 Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

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