Abstract
Triaminotrinitrobenzene (TATB) is a highly anisotropic molecular crystal used in several plastic-bonded explosive (PBX) formulations. A complete understanding of the orientation distribution of TATB particles throughout a PBX charge is required to understand spatially variable, anisotropic macroscale properties of the charge. Although texture of these materials can be measured after they have been subjected to mechanical or thermal loads, measuring texture evolution in situ is important in order to identify mechanisms of crystal deformation and reorientation used to better inform thermomechanical models. Neutron diffraction measurements were used to estimate crystallographic reorientation while deuterated TATB (d-TATB) powder was consolidated into a cylindrical pellet via a uniaxial die-pressing operation at room temperature. Both the final texture of the pressed pellet and the in situ evolution of texture during pressing were measured, showing that the d-TATB grains reorient such that (001) poles become preferentially aligned with the pressing direction. A compaction model is used to predict the evolution of texture in the pellet during the pressing process, finding that the original model overpredicted the texture strength compared to these measurements. The theory was extended to account for initial particle shape and pore space, bringing the results into good agreement with the data.
Highlights
Triaminotrinitrobenzene (TATB) is a high explosive (HE) molecular crystal used in some polymer bonded explosives (PBXs) designed to be relatively insensitive to accidental initiation, for example, from impact or fire
This study extends in situ neutron diffraction measurements during deformation to materials with triclinic crystal structure
D-TATB powder was loaded into a high strength aluminum die and placed into an Instron load frame in the Spectrometer for Materials Research at Temperature and Stress (SMARTS) at the Lujan Center [30]
Summary
Triaminotrinitrobenzene (TATB) is a high explosive (HE) molecular crystal used in some polymer bonded explosives (PBXs) designed to be relatively insensitive to accidental initiation, for example, from impact or fire. Capturing this behavior in macroscale constitutive models requires understanding the anisotropy of single crystals as well as their collective interaction. Each triclinic unit cell of TATB possesses two TATB molecules, each comprising a modified benzene ring. The bonds contained within the modified benzene ring (colored brown in Figure 1) are sufficiently strong so that the molecules remain flat and aligned in layers along the (001) crystallographic plane (highlighted in blue). The intermolecular bonds formed within these molecular layers of TATB are strong hydrogen bonds, while the bonds between adjacent layers are of relatively weaker van der
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