Experimental study on impact-initiated characters of W/Zr energetic fragments

• The critical energy of impact-initiated chemical reaction is determined.
• Reaction of W/Zr energetic fragments is related to the shock energy.
• W/Zr-based metallic glass composites fragment has higher energy efficiency.
• The effective energy first increases and then decreases.

Fragments of energetic materials have stronger damage effect than traditional inert fragments due to additional energy released by simultaneous chemical reaction. In order to characterize the effect of the properties of energetic materials on the chemical reaction, a vented chamber is used to measure the released energy of energetic fragments under impact conditions, a method developed by Ames. Two energetic fragments, W/Zr-based alloy composites and W/Zr-based metallic glass composites, are also used. They are driven by a 12.7 mm ballistic gun, with various levels of velocity, to impact the sealed chamber containing plates with different material and thickness. High-speed videos of energetic fragments of impact-initiated reaction are recorded through an observational window. The pressure in the chamber is measured by strain pressure sensors. According to one-dimensional shock wave theory, the critical energy generated from the impact-initiated chemical reaction by W/Zr-based alloy composites energetic fragments are calculated, using the data collected from the experiment. The effects on impact-initiated chemical reaction, of types of energetic fragments used in the experiment, as well as target material and thickness are discussed and analyzed.

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