Al/Hf ratio-dependent mechanisms of microstructure and mechanical property of nearly fully dense Al—Hf reactive material

This study proposed three types of Al—Hf reactive materials with particle size ratios(a),which were almost completely dense(porosity of<5.40%)owing to their preparation using hot-pressing technology.Microstructure characteristics and phase composition were analyzed,and the influence of particle size ratios on dynamic mechanical behavior and damage mechanism were investigated.The prepared sample with a=0.1 exhibited continuous wrapping of the Hf phase by the Al phase.Hf—Hf contact(continuous Hf phase)within the sample gradually increased with increasing a,and a small amount of fine Hf appeared for the sample with a=1.The reactive materials exhibited clear strain-rate sensitivity,with flow stressσ0.05and failure strainεfincreasing approximately linearly with increasing strain rate.ε.It is found that the plastic deformation of the material increased with increasing strain rate.As a increased from 0.1 to 1,the flow stress gradually increased.Impact failure of the material was dominated by ductile fracture with a large Al phase plastic deformation band for lower a,while brittle fracture with crushed Hf particles occurred at higher a.Finally,a constitutive model based on BP neural network was proposed to describe the stress-strain relationships of the materials,with an average relative error of 2.22%.

Enhanced structural damage behavior of liquid-filled tank by reactive material projectile impact

A series of ballistic experiments were performed to investigate the damage behavior of high velocity reactive material projectiles(RMPs) impacting liquid-filled tanks,and the corresponding hydrodynamic ram(HRAM) was studied in detail.PTFE/Al/W RMPs with steel-like and aluminum-like densities were prepared by a pressing/sintering process.The projectiles impacted a liquid-filled steel tank with front aluminum panel at approximately 1250 m/s.The corresponding cavity evolution characteristics and HRAM pressure were recorded by high-speed camera and pressure acquisition system,and further compared to those of steel and aluminum projectiles.Significantly different from the conical cavity formed by the inert metal projectile,the cavity formed by the RMP appeared as an ellipsoid with a conical front.The RMPs were demonstrated to enhance the radial growth velocity of cavity,the global HRAM pressure amplitude and the front panel damage,indicating the enhanced HRAM and structural damage behavior.Furthermore,combining the impact-induced fragmentation and deflagration characteristics,the cavity evolution of RMPs under the combined effect of kinetic energy impact and chemical energy release was analyzed.The mechanism of enhanced HRAM pressure induced by the RMPs was further revealed based on the theoretical model of the initial impact wave and the impulse analysis.Finally,the linear correlation between the deformation-thickness ratio and the non-dimensional impulse for the front panel was obtained and analyzed.It was determined that the enhanced near-field impulse induced by the RMPs was the dominant reason for the enhanced structural damage behavior.

Behind-plate overpressure effect of steel-encased reactive material projectile impacting thin aluminum plate

Ballistic impact and sealed chamber tests were performed on the steel-encased reactive material projectile(SERMP)to understand its behind-plate overpressure effect when impacting the thin aluminum plates.The reactive material encased with a 1.5 mm thick 30CrMnSiNi2A steel shell was launched onto the initially sealed test chamber with a 3 mm thick 2024-T3 thin aluminum cover plate.Moreover,the overpressure signals in the test chamber were recorded by pressure sensors.The experimental results indicate an unusual behind-plate overpressure effect:as the density of the projectile increases from 6.43 g/cm^(3) to 7.58 g/cm^(3) by increasing the content of tungsten powder,although its total chemical energy decreases,it produces a higher behind-target overpressure at a lower impact velocity.A theoretical model is proposed to predict the reaction length of reactive material inside the projectile based on one-dimensional shock wave theory to understand this unexpected result.In addition,the deviation between the actual energy release and the theoretical calculation results,also the variation of overpressure rise time are analyzed and discussed.As the analyses show,when the SERMP successfully penetrates the cover plate,an increasing density of the reactive material inside the projectile always means that the delaying rarefaction wave effect,an increase of its internal pressure and strain rate levels.These factors lead to the increase of the overpressure limit velocity and reaction extent of the reactive material,while the overpressure rise time decreases.

The effect of sintering and cooling process on geometry distortion and mechanical properties transition of PTFE/Al reactive materials

In this research,the effect of the sintering and cooling process on geometry distortion and mechanical properties of PTFE/Al reactive material is investigated.Six particularly selected sintering temperatures,three different cooling modes(annealing cooling,normalizing cooling and rapid cooling),three different initial cooling temperature s,as well as six different final cooling temperatures were designed to compare the effects of sintering temperature,cooling rate,initial cooling temperature and final cooling temperature on the properties of reactive materials.Geometry distortion was quantitatively analyzed by a statistic on the dimensional changes of the specimens and microscopic morphology.A mechanical response properties transition from brittle to ductile was found and analyzed.By combining the thermodynamic properties of PTFE and unsteady heat conduction theory,mechanisms of cooling induced morphology change,temperature induced distortion and strength decrease were obtained.The results showed that the cooling rate has the most significant effect on the morphology transformation,while initial cooling temperature has more significant effect on the dimensional distortion than final cooling temperature.As to the mechanical properties transition from brittle to plastic,a more prominent effect of initial cooling temperature than cooling rate and final temperature was revealed.

Study on energy release characteristics of reactive material casings under explosive loading

Reactive Materials(RMs),a new material with structural and energy release characteristics under shockinduced chemical reactions,are promising in extensive applications in national defense and military fields.They can increase the lethality of warheads due to their dual functionality.This paper focuses on the energy release characteristics of RM casings prepared by alloy melting and casting process under explosive loading.Explosion experiments of RM and conventional 2A12 aluminum alloy casings were conducted in free field to capture the explosive fireballs,temperature distribution,peak overpressure of the air shock wave and the fracture morphology of fragments of reactive material(RM)warhead casings by using high-speed camera,infrared thermal imager temperature and peak overpressure testing and scanning electron microscope.Results showed that an increase of both the fireball temperature and air shock wave were observed in all RM casings compared to conventional 2A12 aluminum ally casings.The RM casings can improve the peak overpressure of the air shock wave under explosion loading,though the results are different with different charge ratios.According to the energy release characteristics of the RM,increasing the thickness of RM casings will increase the peak overpressure of the near-field air shock wave,while reducing the thickness will increase the peak overpressure of the far-field air shock wave.

Shock-induced reaction behaviors of functionally graded reactive material

In this paper,the ballistic impact experiments,including impact test chamber and impact double-spaced plates,were conducted to study the reaction behaviors of a novel functionally graded reactive material(FGRM),which was composed of polytetrafluoroethylene/aluminum(PTFE/Al)and PTFE/Al/bismuth trioxide(Bi_(2)O_(3)).The experiments showed that the impact direction of the FGRM had a significant effect on the reaction.With the same impact velocity,when the first impact material was PTFE/Al/Bi_(2)O_(3),compared with first impact material PTFE/Al,the FGRM induced higher overpressure in the test chamber and larger damaged area of double-spaced plates.The theoretical model,which considered the shock wave generation and propagation,the effect of the shock wave on reaction efficiency,and penetration behaviors,was developed to analyze the reaction behaviors of the FGRM.The model predicted first impact material of the FGRM with a higher shock impedance was conducive to the reaction of reactive materials.The conclusion of this study provides significant information about the design and application of reactive materials.

Topology optimization of reactive material structures for penetrative projectiles

Recently,reactive materials have been developed for penetrative projectiles to improve impact resistance and energy capacity.However,the design of a reactive material structure,involving shape and size,is challenging because of difficulties such as high non-linearity of impact resistance,manufacturing limitations of reactive materials and high expenses of penetration experiments.In this study,a design optimization methodology for the reactive material structure is developed based on the finite element analysis.A finite element model for penetration analysis is introduced to save the expenses of the experiments.Impact resistance is assessed through the analysis,and result is calibrated by comparing with experimental results.Based on the model,topology optimization is introduced to determine shape of the structure.The design variables and constraints of the optimization are proposed considering the manufacturing limitations,and the optimal shape that can be manufactured by cold spraying is determined.Based on the optimal shape,size optimization is introduced to determine the geometric dimensions of the structure.As a result,optimal design of the reactive material structure and steel case of the penetrative projectile,which maximizes the impact resistance,is determined.Using the design process proposed in this study,reactive material structures can be designed considering not only mechanical performances but also manufacturing limitations,with reasonable time and cost.

Research on the Constitutive Behavior of the Sintered Reactive Material PTFE/Al/Si

The constitutive behaviors of the sintered reactive material PTFE/Al/Si, one new formulation proposed by the author, were studied systematically and found it appears strain-harden, stain-rate harden and temperature-soften effects, so it is more appropriate to describe the mechanical behavior with the Johnson-Cook model. With the static and dynamic experimental results and using the nonlinear fitting method, the mechanical and physical parameters in the Johnson-Cook model were determined, which supply one basis for the future numerical simulation study.

Formation behaviors of rod-like reactive shaped charge penetrator and their effects on damage capability

Formation behaviors of rod-like reactive shaped charge penetrator(RRSCP)and their effects on damage capability are investigated by experiments and numerical simulations.The pulsed X-ray technology and a spaced aluminum/steel plate with the thicknesses of 5 mm/100 mm are used.Three types of sphericalsegment aluminum-polytetrafluoroethylene-copper(Al-PTFE-Cu)reactive liners with Cu contents of 0%,46.6%,and 66%are fabricated and tested.The experimental results show that the reactive liners can form excellent rod-shaped penetrators with tail skirts under the shaped charge effect,but the tail skirts disappear over time.Moreover,rupturing damage to the aluminum plate and penetration to the steel plate are caused by the RRSCP impact.From simulation analysis,the RRSCP is formed by a mechanically and chemically coupled response with the reactive liner activated by shock in its outer walls and bottom and then backward overturning,forming a leading reactive penetrator and a following chemical energy cluster.The unique formation structure determines the damage modes of the aluminum plate and the steel plate.Further analysis indicates that the formation behaviors and damage capability of Al-PTFE-Cu RRSCP strongly depend on Cu content.With increasing Cu content,the velocity,activation extent,and reaction extent of Al-PTFE-Cu RRSCP decrease,which contribute to elongation and alleviate the negative effects of chemical reactions on elongation,significantly increasing the length-diameter ratio and thus enhancing the capability of steel plate penetration.However,the lower activation extent and energetic density will weaken the RRSCP's capability of causing rupturing damage to the aluminum plate.

Evaluation of zeolite-sand mixtures as reactive materials protecting groundwater at waste disposal sites

To recognize properties of a mixture of Vistula sand （medium sand acc. to USCS） with Slovak zeolite as reactive materials suitable for permeable reactive barriers proposed for protection of groundwater environment in vicinity of old landfills comprehensive laboratory investigations were performed. The present study investigates the removal of contaminants specific for landfill leachates onto zeolite-sand mixtures containing 20%, 50% and 80% of zeolite （ZS20, ZS50 and ZS80）. Taking into account the results of batch tests it was concluded that the Langmuir isotherm best fitted the data. It was observed that the presence of ammonium, calcium and magnesium decreases the removal efficiency of copper by 32%. Column tests of contaminant migration through the attenuation zone of the reactive materials were interpreted using the software package CXTFIT, which solves a one-dimensional advection-dispersion equation. Column test results also indicate the strong influence of the presence of interfering substances on copper immobilisation; dynamic sorption capacities decrees twofold. Throughout the landfill leachate flow through ZS80 sample, a constant reduction of NH＋4 （at 100%）, K＋ （at 93%） and Fe total （at an average of 86%） were observed. There was no reduction in chemical oxygen demand and biochemical oxygen demand.

Improving the damage potential of W-Zr reactive structure material under extreme loading condition

Projectiles made of reactive structure materials(RSM)can damage the target with not only kinetic but also chemical energy,but the enhanced damage potential of RSM may become compromised if extreme loading condition disintegrates the projectile before the target is reached.In this work,a ductile coating of Ni was introduced to a tungsten-zirconium(W-Zr)alloy,a typical brittle RSM,to preserve the damage potential of the projectile.Detonation driving tests were carried out with X-ray photography and gunpowder deflagration driving tests were carried out with high-speed photography for the coated and uncoated RSM samples,respectively.The craters on the witness target were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction.The Ni coating was found to effectively preserve the damage potential of the W-Zr alloy under extreme loading conditions,whereas the uncoated sample fractured and ignited before impacting the target in both detonation and deflagration driving.The crack propagation between the reactively brittle core and the ductile coating was analyzed based on the crack arrest theory to mechanistically demonstrate how the coating improves the structural integrity and preserves the damage potential of the projectile.Specifically,the Ni coating envelops theW-Zr core until the coated sphere penetrates the target,and the coating is then eroded and worn to release the reactive core for the projectile to damage the target more intensively.

Experimental investigation on enhanced damage to fuel tanks by reactive projectiles impact

Enhanced damage to the full-filled fuel tank,impacted by the cold pressed and sintered PTFE/Al/W reactive material projectile(RMP)with a density of 7.8 g/cm3,is investigated experimentally and theoretically.The fuel tank is a rectangular structure,welded by six pieces of 2024 aluminum plate with a thickness of 6 mm,and filled with RP-3 aviation kerosene.Experimental results show that the kerosene is ignited by the RMP impact at a velocity above 1062 m/s,and a novel interior ignition phenomenon which is closely related to the rupture effect of the fuel tank is observed.However,the traditional steel projectile with the same mass and dimension requires a velocity up to 1649 m/s to ignite the kerosene.Based on the experimental results,the radial pressure field is considered to be the main reason for the shear failure of weld.For mechanism considerations,the chemical energy released by the RMP enhances the hydrodynamic ram(HRAM)effect and provides additional ignition sources inside the fuel tank,thereby enhancing both rupture and ignition effects.Moreover,to further understand the enhanced ignition effect of RMP,the reactive debris temperature inside the kerosene is analyzed theoretically.The initiated reactive debris with high temperature provides effective interior ignition sources to ignite the kerosene,resulting in the enhanced ignition of the kerosene.

Chain damage effects of multi-spaced plates by reactive jet impact

Chain damage is a new phenomenon that occurs when a reactive jet impacts and penetrates multispaced plates.The reactive jet produces mechanical perforations on the spaced plates by its kinetic energy(KE),and then results in unusual chain rupturing effects and excessive structural damage on the spaced plates by its deflagration reaction.In the present study,the chain damage behavior is initially demonstrated by experiments.The reactive liners,composed of 26 wt%Al and 74 wt%PTFE,are fabricated through a pressing and sintering process.Three reactive liner thicknesses of 0.08 CD,0.10 CD and 0.12 CD(charge diameter)are chosen to carry out the chain damage experiments.The results show a chain rupturing phenomenon caused by reactive jet.The constant reaction delay time and the different penetration velocities of reactive jets from liners with different thicknesses result in the variation of the deflagration position,which consequently determines the number of ruptured plates behind the armor.Then,the finite-element code AUTODYN-3D has been used to simulate the kinetic energy only-induced rupturing effects on plates,based on the mechanism of behind armor debris(BAD).The significant discrepancies between simulations and experiments indicate that one enhanced damage mechanism,the behind armor blast(BAB),has acted on the ruptured plates.Finally,a theoretical model is used to consider the BAB-induced enhancement,and the analysis shows that the rupturing area on aluminum plates depends strongly upon the KE only-induced pre-perforations,the mass of reactive materials,and the thickness of plates.

Initiation behavior of covered explosive subjected to reactive fragment

Reactive fragment enhances lethality by incorporating the defeat mechanisms of kinetic energy and chemical energy into a unitary damage unit. Combined studies on the behavior of reactive fragment initiating covered explosive are performed theoretically and experimentally. The results in- dicate that the response of the covered explosive subjected to reactive fragment is not consistent with the classical shock initiation model. When impacting and penetrating into the covered explosive, the reactive fragment releases great amounts of thermo-chemical energy up to 5. 68 times of its kinetic energy into the explosive due to violent chemical reactions. This impact-induced chemical energy re- lease behavior of the reactive fragment significantly enhances the initiation capability and damage effects on the covered explosive.

Mesoscale study on explosion-induced formation and thermochemical response of PTFE/Al granular jet

The dynamic formation,shock-induced inhomogeneous temperature rise and corresponding chemical reaction behaviors of PTFE/Al reactive liner shaped charge jet(RLSCJ)are investigated by the combination of mesoscale simulation,reaction kinetics and chemical energy release test.A two-dimensional granular model is developed with the randomly normal distribution of aluminum particle sizes and the particle delivery program.Then,the granular model is employed to study the shock-induced thermal behavior during the formation and extension processes of RLSCJ,as well as the temperature history curves of aluminum particles.The simulation results visualize the motion and temperature responses of the RLSCJ at the grain level,and further indicate that the aluminum particles are more likely to gather in the last two-thirds of the jet along its axis.Further analysis shows that the shock,collision,friction and deformation behaviors are all responsible for the steep temperature rise of the reactive jet.In addition,a shock-induced chemical reaction extent model of RLSCJ is built based on the combination of the Arrhenius model and the Avrami-Erofeev kinetic model,by which the chemical reaction growth behavior during the formation and extension stages is described quantitatively.The model indicates the reaction extent highly corresponds to the aluminum particle temperature history at the formation and extension stages.At last,a manometry chamber and the corresponding energy release model are used together to study the macroscopic chemical energy release characteristics of RLSCJ,by which the reaction extent model is verified.

Tungsten combustion in impact initiated W-Al composite based on W(Al) super-saturated solid solution

Element W can effectively improve the density of energetic structural materials. However, W is an inert element and does not combust in air. To change the reaction characteristics of W, 60 at.% Al was introduced into W through mechanical alloying. XRD analysis shows that after 50 h of ball milling, the diffraction peak of Al completely disappears and W(Al60) super-saturated solid solution powder is obtained. Further observation by HAADF and HRTEM reveals that the W(Al60) super-saturated solid solution powder is a mixture of solid solution and amorphous phase. Based on the good thermal stability of W(Al60) alloy powder below 1000℃, W(Al60)-Al composite was synthesized by hot pressing process.Impact initiation experiments suggest that the W(Al60)-Al composite has excellent reaction characteristics, and multiple types of tungsten oxides are detected in the reaction products, showing that the modified W is combustible in air. Due to the combustion of tungsten, the energy release rate of the W(Al60)-Al composite at speed of 1362 m/s reaches 2.71 kJ/g.

Investigation of the shock compression behaviors of Al/PTFE composites with experimental and a 3D mesoscale-model

The responses of Al/PTIFE reactive materials(RMs)under shock compression were investigated by a single-stage gas gun.A 3D mesoscale-model was established based on micro-computed tomography(micro-CT)slice images and confirmed with experimental results.In the high-pressure stage,the com-posites reacted partially,whereas there were no deviations between the partially reacted Hugoniot and the inert simulation results.The simulation reveals that the Teflon matrix melting on the high shock pressure.Melts and decomposition of the PTFE accelerated the diffusion of the atoms.Thus,the reactions of the Al/PTFE composites are more like a combustion rather than a detonation.

Reaction characteristic of PTFE/Al/Cu/Pb composites and application in shaped charge liner

In this paper, the reaction characteristic and its application in shaped charge warhead of a novel reactive material, which introduced copper(Cu) and plumbum(Pb) into traditional polytetrafluoroethylene/aluminum(PTFE/Al), are studied. The thermal analysis and chemical reaction behavior of the PTFE/Al/Cu/Pb mixture are investigated by Differential Scanning Calorimetry(DSC),Thermo-gravimetry(TG), and Xray Diffraction(XRD) techniques. Then, the shaped charge liners with PTFE/Al/Cu/Pb reactive materials are fabricated, and the X-ray experiments show that they could form reactive jets with excellent performance under the detonation effects of the shaped charge. Based on that, the penetration experiments of shaped charge with PTFE/Al/Cu/Pb reactive liner against steel plates are carried out, and the results demonstrate that the PTFE/Al/Cu/Pb reactive jets could produce a deeper penetration depth compared to the traditional PTFE/Al reactive jets. Meanwhile, the PTFE/Al/Cu/Pb reactive jets also show significant inner-blast effects, leading to dramatically cracking or fragmentation behavior of the penetrated steel plates. This new PTFE/Al/Cu/Pb reactive liner shaped charge presents enhanced penetration behavior for steel targets that incorporates the penetration capability of a high-density and ductility jet, and the chemical energy release of PTFE-matrix reactive materials.