Mesoscopic simulation of laser initiation in pentaerythritol tetranitrate

Abstract

Abstract A numerical simulation of laser initiation in a pentaerythritol tetranitrate is presented. A contact smoothed particle hydrodynamics modeling with an explicit simplified-geometry of the microstructure is defined. A sequence of spheres in simple cubic and face-centred cubic lattices is considered. Different types of PETN crystal particles compression by high-enthalpy products expansion are simulated in the hydrodynamic approach. The compactification of spheres and formation of a shock wave in a porous material is observed. Compactification of spherical particles stops the flow of hot products and shock wave is able to override the reaction front propagation. The simulation demonstrates a shock-driven mechanism in the detonation initiation processes.