Melting and shock wave creation in uranium oxide due to Coulomb explosion after a pulsed ionization

By means of molecular dynamics simulations, we study the effects of pulsed ionization in uranium oxide (UO2), which occurs when UO2 is bombarded with swift ions or fission fragments. A general formula is developed to predict melting radius under various conditions due to electron stripping and Coulomb explosion (CE). A critical density model is suggested in which the melting volume is proportional to ionization period, if the period is above a critical value. The maximum melting radius depends on the time period of structural relaxation above the melting temperature, which increases with increasing initial substrate temperatures due to a lower heat dissipation rate. Furthermore, shock waves are observed to emit from CE core but the kinetic energy wave peak exists only in U sublattices. The absence of kinetic energy waves in O sublattices is explained by their relatively higher thermal vibration which cancels the work done from the compression waves.