Development of inert density mock materials for HMX

Yeager, John D.; Duque, Amanda L.; Shorty, Marvin; Bowden, Patrick R.; Stull, Jamie A.

doi:10.1080/07370652.2017.1375049

Cited by 20 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…Mock materials are commonly used when the simulant allows for increased safety, lower costs, or ease of handling compared to the original material. Recently, several materials were identified as new mocks for the explosive cyclotetramethylene-tetranitramine (HMX), in terms of density and thermal stability [1]. However, the effectiveness of simulating mechanical properties with these new mocks has not been addressed.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nanoindentation of HMX and Idoxuridine to Determine Mechanical Similarity

2017

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Assessing the mechanical behavior (elastic properties, plastic properties, and fracture phenomena) of molecular crystals is often complicated by the difficulty in preparing samples. Pharmaceuticals and energetic materials in particular are often used in composite structures or tablets, where the individual grains can strongly impact the solid behavior. Nanoindentation is a convenient method to experimentally assess these properties, and it is used here to demonstrate the similarity in the mechanical properties of two distinct systems: individual crystals of the explosive cyclotetramethylene tetranitramine (HMX) and the pharmaceutical idoxuridine were tested in their as-precipitated state, and the effective average modulus and hardness (which can be orientation dependent) were determined. Both exhibit a hardness of 1.0 GPa, with an effective reduced modulus of 25 and 23 GPa for the HMX and idoxuridine, respectively. They also exhibit similar yield point behavior. This indicates idoxuridine may be a suitable mechanical surrogate (or "mock") for HMX. While the methodology to assess elastic and plastic properties was relatively insensitive to specific crystal orientation (i.e., a uniform distribution in properties was observed for all random crystals tested), the indentation-induced fracture properties appear to be much more sensitive to tip-crystal orientation, and an unloading slope analysis is used to demonstrate the need for further refinement in relating toughness to orientation in these materials with relatively complex slip systems and crystal structures.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nanoindentation of HMX and Idoxuridine to Determine Mechanical Similarity

2017

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“…The general methodology for creating a list of mock candidates and then downselecting to several materials for further testing has been reported for HMX recently [25]. Following that example, five materials were chosen as potential mock candidates for PETN: 246 TFBA, PFBA, HFPT, N-BPFPO, and erythritol.…”

Section: Materials Selectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…There has been limited investigation in the literature for suitable mocks for PETN, in recent years using mocks to develop techniques for explosives trace detection [3][4][5]. For other HE materials, inert molecular crystals are often used as mocks in cases where handling HE is a concern [6]. A high fidelity or versatile mock will replicate the most important property of the target HE (e.g., density) while also mimicking as many of the other thermal and mechanical properties of the HE as possible.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Thermal and Nanomechanical Study of Molecular Crystals as Versatile Mocks for Pentaerythritol Tetranitrate

et al. 2020

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Pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN) is a commonly used high explosive (HE) in detonators. Often, surrogate or “mock” materials are used in place of HE for mechanical tests, proofing out equipment, or developing new diagnostics. However, there is no commonly accepted mock for PETN. A good mock should match at least one physical property of the target material, and ideally mimic multiple thermal and mechanical properties. Here, we investigate several molecular crystals to evaluate their efficacy in mocking PETN density, melting point, elastic modulus, hardness, plastic deformation, and fracture behavior. Materials were tested with a combination of calorimetry and nanoindentation. Two materials, 2,4,6-trifluorobenzoic acid (246 TFBA) and mesoerythritol, were downselected for detailed indentation study after the initial round of screening experiments, both were found to mimic PETN mechanical behavior quite well, 246 TFBA closer to PETN in most properties (hardness, modulus, and density) than erythritol, but erythritol having advantages in relative cost and matching the onset of yield. Depending on the desired implementation of the mock, one material may be preferred over the other, but both have potential as generic mocks for PETN. Nanoindentation is demonstrated as a versatile tool to provide rapid screening of these materials’ mechanical properties.

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“…Ideally, an HMX mock would be able to model as many properties as possible. Yeager et al have taken the first steps to identify a new HMX mock to match both density and mechanical properties, among other considerations such as melting point and water solubility [2]. They identified three materials as likely candidates and here we performed a compaction study on them.…”

Section: Mock Hmx Pressing Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, sugar has a lower theoretical maximum density (TMD) than HMX and absorbs water, causing it to be of limited use as an HMX density or mechanical properties mock [2]. Ideally, a new mock material could replace several others currently being used to simulate specific properties of HMX and here we present preliminary work on some candidate powders.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Instrumented pressing of inert powders to study the effect of particle size

Stull¹,

Thompson²,

Woznick³

et al. 2018

AIP Conference Proceedings

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Abstract. It is well-known that the detonation and mechanical properties of pressed high explosives (HEs) depend on density. Furthermore, specific particle size distributions have been shown to compact more easily and to effect some shock/detonation properties. Theoretically, particle size distributions can be optimized for compaction and performance. Here, in anticipation of future experiments on HE powders, we explore the role of inert particle-size characteristics on compaction properties and pellet integrity. An instrumented compaction instrument was used to press inert powders that have similar particle size distributions to 1,3,5,7-tetranitro-1,3,5,7-tetrazocane (HMX), as well as compounds that are being developed as mock materials for HMX. The measured force and displacement measurements provide information in the form of compaction curves and Heckel plots. The results of the compaction measurements and subsequent Instron compression tests identify 5-iodo-2'-deoxyuridine (IDOX) as a potential HMX mock for density and mechanical strength. Relevant measurements were also made towards calibration and implementation of the modified Drucker-Prager Cap model for compaction of HE powders.

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Development of inert density mock materials for HMX

Cited by 20 publications

References 29 publications

Nanoindentation of HMX and Idoxuridine to Determine Mechanical Similarity

Nanoindentation of HMX and Idoxuridine to Determine Mechanical Similarity

A Thermal and Nanomechanical Study of Molecular Crystals as Versatile Mocks for Pentaerythritol Tetranitrate

Instrumented pressing of inert powders to study the effect of particle size

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