Microscale Electromagnetic Heating in Heterogeneous Energetic Materials Based on X-ray Computed Tomography

Abstract

Detecting explosives without setting them off is, obviously, a prime goal in security applications. Avoiding detonation requires deep understanding of the complex, spatiotemporal interplay of chemistry and heat transport in heterogeneous solids. The authors combine three-dimensional structural data, dielectric data, and simulations to study hot-spot formation and thermal gradients in energetic mesostructures under electromagnetic radiation. They find that enhanced light absorption at hot spots, below the initiation threshold---``tickling the dragon''---could provide alternative signatures for stand-off detection.