Abstract
Microparticle additives containing both Al fuel and oxidizer, fabricated by arrested reactive milling (ARM), could potentially increase the power of energetic materials such as HMX because they contain premixed fuel and oxidizer. Optimizing shock reactivity requires exploring a vast parametric space encompassing composition, milling parameters that govern microstructural features such as intraparticle voids and fuel-oxidizer mixing, and the resulting inhomogeneous shock reactivity of individual particles. To present our approach, we used a model composition 8Al⋅3CuO, previously optimized for combustion. We milled powders and prescreened different prepared batches using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) to rule out batches with significant pre-reaction. Then we employed high throughput tabletop shock testing. Each experiment shocked hundreds of individual microparticles embedded in a transparent polymer binder by a flyer impacting at 3.5km/s(17GPa). Thermal emission detected with nanosecond and micrometer-resolution measured hotspot and combustion temperatures, energy output, and energy release rates as a function of particle size. In the initial experiments, the milling conditions that produced larger oxide inclusions resulted in hotter hotspots, higher combustion temperatures, and greater energy output. Driven by shock-induced reactions, these microparticles underwent volume explosion.
Recommended Citation
S. Valluri et al., "Optimizing Ball‐Milled Composites For Fast Energy Release Under Shock Compression," Propellants, Explosives, Pyrotechnics, Wiley, Aug 2026.
The definitive version is available at https://doi.org/10.1002/prep.70265
Department(s)
Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Publication Status
Open Access
Keywords and Phrases
Additives; Arrested reactive milling; Explosives; Shock compression
Document Type
Article - Journal
Document Version
Citation
File Type
text
Language(s)
English
Rights
© 2026 Wiley, All rights reserved.
Creative Commons Licensing
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Publication Date
25 Aug 2026
Comments
Acknowledgements: The research at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign was supported by the US Army Research Office under award W911NF-22-2-0181, and the research at the New Jersey Institute of Technology was supported by the US Defense Threat Reduction Agency under awards HDTRA12020001 and HDTRA 2004756624, and by US Office of Naval Research under award N00014-1912048.