Simulating thermal explosion of cyclotrimethylenetrinitramine-based explosives: Model comparison with experiment

Abstract

We compare two-dimensional model results with measurements for the thermal, chemical, and mechanical behavior in a thermal explosion experiment. Confined high explosives (HEs) are heated at a rate of 1°C∕h until an explosion is observed. The heating, ignition, and deflagration phases are modeled using an Arbitrarily Lagrangian-Eulerian code (ALE3D) that can handle a wide range of time scales that vary from a structural to a dynamic hydrotime scale. During the preignition phase, quasistatic mechanics and diffusive thermal transfer from a heat source to the HE are coupled with the finite chemical reactions that include both endothermic and exothermic processes. Once the HE ignites, a hydrodynamic calculation is performed as a burn front propagates through the HE. Two cyclotrimethylenetrinitramine-based explosives, C-4 and PBXN-109, are considered, whose chemical-thermal-mechanical models are constructed based on measurements of thermal and mechanical properties along with small scale thermal explosion measurements. The simulated dynamic response of HE confinement during the explosive phase is compared to measurements in larger scale thermal explosion tests. The explosion temperatures for both HEs are predicted to within 5°C. Calculated and measured wall strains provide an indication of vessel pressurization during the heating phase and violence during the explosive phase. During the heating phase, simulated wall strains provide only an approximate representation of measured values indicating a better numerical treatment is needed to provide accurate results. The results also show that more numerical accuracy is needed for vessels with lesser confinement strength. For PBXN-109, the measured wall strains during the explosion are well represented by the ALE3D calculations.