The objective of this work has been to investigate the applicability of the gas gun to study the armature-rail interface wear characteristics relevant to rail gun operations. The approach involved developing constitutive models for armature materials (aluminum 6061) as well as oxygen-free high-thermal conductivity copper as the rail material. Taylor rod-on-anvil impact experiments were performed to validate the accuracy of constitutive strength models by correlating predictions of dynamic simulations in ANSYS AUTODYN with experimental observations. An optical comparator was used to discretize the cross sectional deformation profile of each rod-shaped sample. Parameters of the Johnson-Cook strength model were adjusted for each material to match deformation profiles obtained from simulations with profiles obtained from impact experiments. The fitted Johnson-Cook model parameters for each material were able to give overall deformed length and diameter values within 2% of the experimentally observed data. Additional simulations were then used with the validated strength model parameters to design the geometry involving cylindrical rods of armature material accelerated through a concentric cylindrical extrusion die made of copper, to emulate the interface wear effects produced in a rail gun operation. Experiments were conducted using this geometry and employing both the 7.62mm and 80mm diameter gas guns. Microstructural analysis was conducted on interfaces of the recovered samples from both designs. Hardness measurements were also performed along the interface layer to evaluate the structure formation due to solid-state wear or melt formation. The stress and strain conditions resulting in the observed microstructural effects were correlated with predictions from numerical simulations performed using the validated material models. The overall results illustrate that the stress-strain conditions produced during acceleration of Al through hollow concentric copper extrusion die, result in interface deformation and wear characteristics that are influenced by velocity. At velocities (less than 800m/s), interface wear leads to formation of layer dominated by solid-state alloying of Cu and Al, while higher velocities produce a melted and re-solidified aluminum layer. Hence, use of different armature (Al-based) and rail (Cu-based) materials can be evaluated with the gas-gun set-up employed in the current work to study the effects of interface wear ranging from formation melt layer to solid-state alloying as a function of material properties and velocity.

The initiation of high explosives (HEs) under shock loading lacks a comprehensive understanding: particularly at the particle scale. One common explanation is hot spot theory, which suggests that energy in the material resulting from the impact event is localized in a small area causing an increase in temperature that can lead to ignition. This study focuses on the response of HMX particles (a common HE) within a polymer matrix (Sylgard-184^®), a simplified example of a polymer bonded explosive (PBX). A light gas gun was used to load the samples at impact velocities ranging from 370 to 520 m/s. The impact events were visualized using X-ray phase contrast imaging (PCI) allowing real-time observation of the impact event. The experiments used three subsets of PBX samples: multiple particle (production grade and single crystal), drilled hole, and milled slot. Evidence of damage and deformation occurred in all of the sample types. While the necessary impact velocity for consistent hot spot formation leading to reactions was not reached, the damage (particularly cracking) that occurred provides a useful indication of where hot spots may occur when higher velocities are reached. With the multiple particle samples, evidence of cracking and debonding occurred throughout. One sample showed significant volume expansion due to possible reaction. The samples containing drilled holes demonstrated the expected pore collapse behavior at these velocities, as well as damage downstream from the holes under various two-hole arrangements. Milled slot samples were tested to simulate existing cracks in the HMX. These samples showed increased damage at the site of the milled slot, as well as unique cracking behavior in one of the samples.

En lättgaskanon är en typ av kanon som används vid experiment där mycket snabba förlopp är av intresse, till exempel hypersonisk strömning och höghastighetskollisioner. Kanontypen når betydligt högre hastigheter än en konventionell kanon då projektilen accelereras genom eldröret av en gas med låg molekylmassa som vätgas eller helium istället för krutgaser. Denna lättgas komprimeras först till högt tryck och temperatur i pumptuben av en kolv som accelererats av en krutladdning. Pumptuben är ett rör anslutet till eldröret som initialt är frånskild av ett membran. För kanonen kan en mängd olika parametrar varieras och hur dessa ska väljas för att en viss mynningshastighet ska nås är inte självklart. Vid FOI har val av parametrar historiskt gjorts baserat på erfarenhet och genom experiment vilket kan vara tidsödslande. Syftet med examensarbetet var därför att simulera kanonen och undersöka hur olika parametrar påverkar dess prestanda. Forskningsfrågor som skulle besvaras var hur olika parametrar påverkar projektilens mynningshastighet och vilket utav två eldrörsalternativ som är bäst lämpat för en viss projektilvikt. Det innerballistiska förloppet i kanonen har simulerats för olika parameterkombinationer med ett program utvecklat specifikt för lättgaskanoner vid NASA:s Ames Research Center och modellen har i viss mån kunnat jämföras mot experimentell data. Resultatet av simuleringarna är att mängden lättgas och krut båda har stor inverkan på mynningshastigheten och att högre kolvvikt jämnar ut trycktoppar som uppstår till följd av stötar i gasen. Att ändra membranets öppningstryck ger ingen förbättring av kanonprestandan för den undersökta projektilvikten och utav de två eldrören som undersökts är det med större kaliber mer lämpligt för de aktuella experimenten. / A light gas gun is a type of gun which is used for experiments when high velocity phenomena are of interest, such as hypersonic flow and high-velocity impacts. The gun type can reach much higher velocities than a conventional gun as the projectile is accelerated down the barrel by a gas with low molecular mass such as hydrogen or helium instead of combustion gasses. This light gas is first compressed to high pressure and temperature in the pump tube with a piston which is accelerated with a propellant charge. The pump tube is connected to the barrel but initially separated from it with a membrane. A vast array of parameters can be varied on the gun in order to achieve a target muzzle velocity and their selection is not trivial. Historically parameters have been selected at FOI through experience and experiments which can be tedious. The purpose of this thesis was to simulate the gun and investigate how various parameters influence its performance. The research questions to be answered was how the parameters influence the muzzle velocity of the projectile and which of two barrels is the most suitable for a given projectile weight. The internal ballistics of the gun was simulated for various combinations of parameters using a program specifically developed for light gas guns at NASA's Ames Research Center and the model has to some extent been compared to experimental data. The result of the simulations shows that the amount of light gas and the propellant charge have a significant effect of the achieved velocity and that the weight of the piston has a reducing effect on the pressure peaks caused by shockwaves in the gas. Changing the opening pressure of the membrane does not improve gun performance for the investigated projectile weight and of the two barrels investigated the one with larger calibre is better suited for the experiments of interest.

The main purpose of this thesis is the systematic, experimental investigation of how a soft interlayer affects the impact response and energy dissipation mechanisms of all-polymer multi-laminates. An instrumented, intermediate impact velocity experimental setup with strain rates on the order of 100 s-1, is used to assess the impact mechanics of three-layered samples consisting of a poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) front, polymer interlayer or adhesive, and polycarbonate (PC) back layer. Instrumentation of the gas gun is achieved with a shock accelerometer measuring contact force and optical displacement sensors recording deflection. Previous impact research utilizing instrumented gas guns by Levy and Goldsmith, and Delfosse et al. have measured contact force, but did not record simultaneous out-of-plane displacement. Signals acquired are temporally aligned allowing for insight into the response of the multi-laminate during impact, which is inaccessible with typical gas guns. Impact testing is completed on bonded and unbonded sample configurations, with two thermoplastic polyurethane and four polyacrylate interlayers. Quantitative metrics from force and displacement signals, along with post-impact damage observations, are used to compare impact performance between configurations and impact velocities (12 and 22 m/s). In general, the presence and bonding of an interlayer increases impact resistance by mitigating and localizing the impact load. The interlayers are characterized at various strain rates in tension, compression, and shear adhesion. In tension, all interlayers display rate dependence, non-linearity, and hysteretic behavior showing varying degrees of increasing energy dissipation with strain rate. Several trends between sample fracture and energy absorption mechanisms, quasi-static and low rate interlayer response, and metric results are established and discussed. / Master of Science

Understanding the failure behavior of polymers subjected to an ultrahigh strain rate (UHSR) impact is crucial for their applications in any protective shielding. But little is known about how polymers respond to UHSR events at the macroscale, or what effect their chemical makeups and morphology contribute. This dissertation aims to answer these questions by characterizing the responses of polymers subjected to UHSRs, investigating how the polymer molecular architecture and morphologies alter the macroscopic response during UHSRs via hypervelocity impact (HVI), linking the behaviors of UHSR events between the macro- and nano-length scales, and determining the consequences of UHSR impacts on polymer chains. Macroscale UHSR impacts are conducted using a two-stage light gas gun (2SLGG) to induce an HVI. Different molecular weights and thicknesses of polycarbonate were considered. The HVI behavior of polycarbonate is characterized using both real-time and postmortem techniques. The response depends on target thickness and impact velocity (vi). However, negligible difference is observed between the HVI results for the two differing entanglement densities. These contrasts previous conclusions drawn on the nanoscale during UHSR impacts which capture an increase in the energy arrested from the projectile with increasing entanglement density. To link the UHSR phenomena from nano to macroscale, laser-induced projectile impact testing (LIPIT) is conducted on polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) thin films on the nanoscale in addition to ballistic and 2SLGG impacts at macroscale. Applying Buckingham-Π theorem, scaling relationships for the minimum perforation velocity and the residual velocity across these length scales were developed. It is shown that the ratios between target thickness to projectile radius, between projectile and target density, and the velocity of the compressive stress wave traveling through the target are the governing parameters for the UHSR responses of polymers across theses length scales. The effect UHSRs have on the polymer is investigated via ex-situ analysis by capturing polymer debris using a custom-built debris catcher. Different material-vi combinations are examined. X-ray diffraction and differential scanning calorimetry are used to characterize the HVI debris. Evidence of char was found within the debris. This dissertation advances the knowledge regarding the failure behavior of polymer materials subjected to UHSRs.

For roughly fifteen years the military has sought to use the properties of ceramics for armor applications. Current high-performance ceramics have extremely high compressive strengths and low densities. One ceramic that has been shown to be highly resistant under ballistic impact is silicon carbide (SiC). It has been found that even within the silicon carbides, those manufactured by certain methods and those with certain microstructural properties have advantages over others. In order to understand the microstructural reasons behind variations in ballistic properties, plate impact tests were conducted on two sintered silicon carbides with slightly different microstructures. Two variations of a silicon carbide with the trade name Hexoloy SA were obtained through Saint Gobain. Regular Hexoloy (RH) and Enhanced Hexoloy (EH) are pressureless sintered products having exactly the same chemistries. EH went through additional powder processing prior to sintering, producing a final product with a slightly different morphology than RH. Samples of each were characterized microstructurally including morphology, density, elastic wavespeeds, microhardness, fracture toughness, and flexure strength. The characterization revealed differences in porosity distribution and flexure strength. It was determined that the porosity distribution in EH had fewer large pores leading to an 18% increase in flexural strength over that for RH. The focus of the mechanics of materials community concerning dynamic material behavior is to pin down what exactly is happening microstructurally during ballistic events. Several studies have been conducted where material properties of one ceramic type are varied and the dynamic behavior is tested and analyzed. Usually, from one variation to the next, several properties are different making it hard to isolate the effect of each. For this study, the only difference in the materials was porosity distribution. Plate impact experiments were conducted at the Army Research Laboratory (ARL) using the gas gun facilities within the Impact Physics Branch. A VISAR was utilized to measure free surface velocities. Tests were performed on each material to determine the Hugoniot Elastic Limit (HEL) and spall strength. Spall strength was measured as a function of impact stress, and pulse duration.

Ce travail a pour objectif d’étudier le comportement mécanique d’un fil de para-aramide en sollicitation longitudinale et dynamique. Pour ce faire, nous avons conçu un nouveau dispositif expérimental permettant de réaliser ces essais à l’aide d’un canon à gaz : le Dispositif de Traction par Impact sur Fil (DTIF). Ce dispositif a subi de nombreuses modifications dans le but d’obtenir des conditions d’essais optimales. Celui-ci est associé à un dispositif de mesure par laser permettant d’obtenir le profil de vitesse du projectile ainsi que les courbes caractéristiques de Force-Déformation du fil testé. La validité de la mesure est confirmée par comparaison aux résultats obtenus avec un vélocimètre à effet Doppler, dispositif permettant de mesurer directement et de façon précise le profil de vitesse du projectile. Plusieurs campagnes d’essais sont réalisées, à la fois dans le but d’identifier les caractéristiques dynamiques d’un fil seul, et dans le but de caractériser l’influence de l’arrangement structural d’un tissu sur le comportement dynamique d’un fil. Cette étude révèle l’intervention de trois principaux paramètres structuraux, qui sont la surface de contact inter-fils totale, le nombre de points de liage et les pressions inter-fils transverses et latérales au sein du tissu, influant sur quatre principaux critères de rupture du fil, qui sont les défauts de structure et les phénomènes d’hystérésis au sein du filament, les concentrations de contraintes ainsi que les forces de frottement au niveau des interactions entre le fil testé et le reste de la structure tissée. / This work aims at studying the mechanical behavior of a para-aramid yarn in dynamic and longitudinal load. To that end, we designed a new experimental device to achieve these tests with the use of a gas gun: the Tensile Impact Test for Yarn (TITY). This device met numerous modifications in the aim to reach optimal test conditions. It is associated with a measurement device using laser and allowing obtaining the velocity profile of the projectile and the Strength-Strain characteristic curves of the tested yarn. The validity of the measure is confirmed by comparing our results with those obtained with a laser Doppler vélocimètre, device allowing measuring directly and precisely the velocity profile of the projectile. Many test campaigns are performed. Both in the aim to identify the dynamic parameters of a single and virgin yarn, and in the aim to characterize the impact of the fabric structural arrangement on the dynamic behavior of a yarn. This study reveals the intervention of three main structural parameters, which are the total inter-yarns contact surface, the number of binding points and the transvers and lateral inter-yarns pressures, having an impact on four main yarn break criteria, which are the structural defects and hysteresis phenomena inside the filament, stress concentrations and frictional forces concerning the interactions between the tested yarn and the rest of the fabric.

<p>  </p> <p>Polymer bonded explosives (PBX) are a particle reinforced composite containing a high solids loading of explosive particulates bound in a polymer matrix. Commercially produced energetic particulates contain some percentage of flaws in the form of contaminants, porosity, and preexisting fractures. Additional large-scale porosity within the composite is generated during PBX formulation. The introduction of novel additive manufacturing techniques to the energetics field alters the known composite structure and introduces a porosity variable that has not been fully characterized. Porosity collapse during deformation is believed to be a predominant mechanism for hotspot formation, which dominates shock initiation behaviors. These phenomena are difficult to experimentally characterize due to inherent small spectral and temporal scales, and as such numerical and computational models are relied upon to inform fundamental physics. Experimental characterization of the behaviors of energetic materials during deformation is necessary to better inform computational studies and improve our understanding of hotspot formation mechanisms. </p> <p>This dissertation experimentally evaluates the high-rate deformation of porosity in individual explosive particulates and within the overall composite structure. This has included the development of a novel micromachining technique for pore generation in energetic single crystals using the focused ion beam (FIB), resulting in precise and controllable porosity generation that is easily reproducible in collaboration with computational studies. FIB was shown to be an effective pore generation technique, verified by assessing surface roughness and pore quality compared to contemporary manufacturing methods. Three experimental subsets are evaluated: surface cracks in HMX single crystals, polygonal pores in HMX single crystals, and large-scale porosity variations in mock vibration assisted print (VAP) produced composites of borosilicate glass beads and Sylgard 184® binder. A single stage light gas gun was used to impact the samples at 400 m/s and the impact event and resultant material response were observed in real time using x-ray phase contrast imaging (PCI). Machined surface cracks were shown to have negligible effect on the final fracture behaviors of HMX crystals. In polygonal pores fractures were shown to originate due to stress concentration during impact followed by otherwise expected brittle fracture behaviors. For wedge-like pores, the shockwave culminates on the front face of the pore and contributed to early fracture in some samples as well as a consistent open fracture opposite the impact along the shockwave direction in later stages of impact. For the blunt rectangular-like pores two differing behaviors were observed, wherein either the pore condensed and fracture at the pore was not seen during the impact event or large open fractures formed at the pore corners opposite the shockwave. The variance in response is attributed to the energy of fracture dissipating somewhere else in the material bulk, like the behaviors observed in the milled slot samples. Finally, additively manufactured PBX deformation behaviors were observed to be dominated by the collapse of the existing ordered porosity in the bulk which occurred at an increased rate relative to the bulk material compression. This resulted in a three-stage progression of deformation, consisting of a rapid collapse of large-scale ordered porosity, followed by the densification of the remaining features, and ultimately ending in compaction of the bulk as the impact projectile fully compressed the samples. Future work includes exploration of further FIB produced pore effects on dynamic fractures, evaluation of printed material deformation behaviors at additional rates, as well as application and evaluation of additional VAP printed material formulations.  </p>

This work focuses on understanding the impact-initiated combustion of aluminum powder compacts. Aluminum is typically one of the components of intermetallic-forming structural energetic materials (SEMs), which have the desirable combination of rapid release of thermal energy and high yield strength. Aluminum powders of various sizes and different levels of mechanical pre-activation are investigated to determine their reactivity under uniaxial stress rod-on-anvil impact conditions, using a 7.62 mm gas gun. The compacts reveal light emission due to combustion upon impact at velocities greater than 170 m/s. Particle size and mechanical pre-activation influence the initiation of aluminum combustion reaction through particle-level processes such as localized friction, strain, and heating, as well as continuum-scale effects controlling the amount of energy required for compaction and deformation of the powder compact during uniaxial stress loading. Compacts composed of larger diameter aluminum particles (~70µm) are more sensitive to impact initiated combustion than those composed of smaller diameter particles. Additionally, mechanical pre-activation by high energy ball milling (HEBM) increases the propensity for reaction initiation. Direct imaging using high-speed framing and IR cameras reveals light emission and temperature rise during the compaction and deformation processes. Correlations of these images to meso-scale CTH simulations reveal that initiation of combustion reactions in aluminum powder compacts is closely tied to mesoscale processes, such as particle-particle interactions, pore collapse, and particle-level deformation. These particle level processes cannot be measured directly because traditional pressure and velocity sensors provide spatially averaged responses. In order to address this issue, quantum dots (QDs) are investigated as possible meso-scale pressure sensors for probing the shock response of heterogeneous materials directly. Impact experiments were conducted on a QD-polymer film using a laser driven flyer setup at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). Time-resolved spectroscopy was used to monitor the energy shift and intensity loss as a function of pressure over nanosecond time scales. Shock compression of a QD-PVA film results in an upward shift in energy (or a blueshift in the emission spectra) and a decrease in emission intensity. The magnitude of the shift in energy and the drop in intensity are a function of the shock pressure and can be used to track the particle scale differences in the shock pressure. The encouraging results illustrate the possible use of quantum dots as mesoscale diagnostics to probe the mechanisms involved in the impact initiation of combustion or intermetallic reactions.