3D Nondestructive Imaging Techniques for Mesoscale Damage Analysis of Composite Materials

Energetic materials may be subjected to severe environments of pressure and shear loading, causing damage that leads to premature initiation or suboptimal performance. This damage is at the mesoscale, at and below the grain size of the particles, in the range of 5-400 microns. A 3D non-destructive technique for imaging this damage would allow acquisition of valuable microstructure data that could be input into models and simulations. This project involves the development of appropriate experimental techniques that can detect the evolution of damage in representative composite materials, such as plastic bonded explosives. Potential modeling techniques are also investigated.