Fast Energy Release From Reactive Materials Under Shock Compression

Author

• Sergey Matveev
• Dana D. Dlott
• Siva Kumar Valluri, Missouri University of Science and TechnologyFollow
• Mehnaz Mursalat
• Edward L. Dreizin

Abstract

Metal-based reactive nanomaterials (RNMs) can produce two to three times more energy than conventional organic explosives, but the exothermic reactions, which ordinarily require diffusive mixing of separated fuel and oxidizer components, are too slow and do not generate enough gas to produce detonations. Here, we studied shock initiation of 4Al/Bi2O3 and 4Al/BiF3 RNMs produced by arrested reactive milling. Initiated by a 3 km/s impact, which approximates a powerful detonation, fast energy release produced 3200 K temperatures. In the fluoride, a rapid volume increase was also observed. The shock-induced energy release was orders of magnitude faster than when the RNM was heated. Although these RNM powders by themselves likely cannot produce detonations, our results suggest that used as additives in detonating systems, they might significantly boost the energy of chemical explosives.

Recommended Citation

S. Matveev et al., "Fast Energy Release From Reactive Materials Under Shock Compression," Applied Physics Letters, vol. 118, no. 10, article no. 101902, AIP Publishing, Mar 2021.

The definitive version is available at https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0043586

Department(s)

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

Comments

Defense Threat Reduction Agency, Grant HDTRA12020001/2004756624

International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)

0003-6951

Document Type

Article - Journal

Document Version

Citation

File Type

text

Language(s)

English

Rights

© 2026 AIP Publishing, All rights reserved.

Publication Date

08 Mar 2021