THE DYNAMICS OF MECHANICAL ACTIVATION IN ENERGETIC MATERIALS

Energetic materials (explosives, propellants, and pyrotechnics; EMs) are important functional materials characterised by their ability to instantly release large amounts of energy when initiated. This material behaviour makes EMs essential in civilian and defence technologies, spanning mining and construction, transportation, entertainment, and weaponry. Despite nearly a century of research, there is currently no way to know a priori how much energy is needed to initiate a particular EM. Aiming to facilitate EM design and mitigate the associated safety risks, we have recently developed the first physics-based theoretical model that successfully predicts the relative initiation sensitivity for a broad range of organic EMs. Understanding and quantifying into which functional groups the kinetic energy from a mechanical stimulus localises is critical for identifying which vibrational modes drive EM initiation. Moreover, mapping the structure of the underlying nuclear potential energy surfaces is needed to correctly capture the energetic barriers
associated with vibrationally-driven molecular dissociation. Ultimately, elucidating these phenomena will significantly improve our predictive model whilst also providing a new understanding of the chemical features needed to design the reactivity of EMs. VESUVIO offers a unique opportunity to probe both these aspects directly.