Publications Details

Cookoff of energetic materials

Baer, M.R.; Hobbs, M.L.; Gross, R.J.; Schmitt, R.G.

An overview of cookoff modeling at Sandia National Laboratories is presented aimed at assessing the violence of reaction following cookoff of confined energetic materials. During cookoff, the response of energetic materials is known to involve coupled thermal/chemical/mechanical processes which induce thermal damage to the energetic material prior to the onset of ignition. These damaged states enhance shock sensitivity and lead to conditions favoring self-supported accelerated combustion. Thus, the level of violence depends on the competition between pressure buildup and stress release due to the loss of confinement. To model these complex processes, finite element-based analysis capabilities are being developed which can resolve coupled heat transfer with chemistry, quasi-static structural mechanics and dynamic response. Numerical simulations that assess the level of violence demonstrate the importance of determining material damage in pre- and post-ignition cookoff events.