Multi-physics and Multi-scale Computational Modeling of Energetic Materials

The emergence of new high explosive materials calls for the development of improved numerical techniques to predict their performance and sensitivity. In this work, computational strategies are developed for simulating the thermal response of high explosives. The explosion model includes a shock-to-detonation transition in a condensed phase, which is then allowed to propagate into a surrounding gaseous mixture. Shock initiation and detonation behavior are attributed to reaction changes in the microstructure of condensed materials. Challenges emerge in the coupling of the corresponding equations of state due to the multiphase nature of the problem, as well as resolving the different spatial and time scales.

Additional effort is developing a multi-material methodology to couple the energetic material detonation and the post-detonation flow field thus generated. A coupled fluid-structure approach is being developed using multiple equations of state.

This project is currently under review.

Personnel Involved: TBD

Sponsor: ONR, DTRA, Eglin AFB