Confocal scanning laser microscopic study of the RDX defect structure in deformed polymer-bonded explosives

Abstract

The influence of an explosion-driven deformation on the defect structure in RDX crystals embedded in a polymer-bonded explosive was investigated by means of confocal scanning laser microscopy. The images were compared to the defect structure in the as-received RDX grades, embedded in an epoxy resin. In this way it is possible to qualitatively analyze the changes in defect structure of the RDX crystals that were induced by the explosion-driven deformation. For the first time, these data therefore provide experimental confirmation of how shock waves mechanically interact with energetic crystals – a topic that, up to now, was only explored by means of simulations.