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Molecular dynamics simulation of CL20/DNDAP cocrystal-based PBXs

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Abstract

Context

CL-20/DNDAP cocrystal is a promising new type of explosive with exceptional energy density and detonation parameters. However, compared to TATB, FOX-7 and other insensitive explosives, it still has higher sensitivity. In order to decrease the sensitivity of CL20/DNDAP cocrystal explosive, in this article, a CL20/DNDAP cocrystal model was established, and six different types of polymers, including butadiene rubber (BR), ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer (EVA), polyethylene glycol (PEG), hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene (HTPB), fluoropolymer (F2603), and polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF), were added to the three cleaved surfaces of (1 0 0), (0 1 0) and (0 0 1) to obtain polymer-bonded explosives (PBXs). Predict the effects of different polymers on the stability, trigger bond length, mechanical properties, and detonation performance of PBXs. Among the six PBX models, CL-20/DNDAP/PEG model exhibited the highest binding energy and the lowest trigger bond length, indicating that CL-20/DNDAP/PEG model had the best stability, compatibility, and the least sensitivity. Furthermore, although the CL-20/DNDAP/F2603 model demonstrated superior detonation capabilities, it should be noted that this model displayed low levels of compatibility. Overall, CL-20/DNDAP/PEG model exhibited the superior comprehensive properties, thereby demonstrating that PEG is a more suitable binder option for PBXs based on the CL20/DNDAP cocrystal.

Methods

The properties of CL-20/DNDAP cocrystal-based PBXs were predicted by molecular dynamics (MD) method under Materials Studio software. The MD simulation time step was set at 1fs and the total MD simulation time was 2ns. The Isothermal-isobaric (NPT) ensemble was used for the 2ns of MD simulation. The COMPASS force field was used, and the temperature was set at 295K.

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Data availability

All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this article.

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Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Contributions

Jian-sen Mao: completed the whole simulation work and wrote the original draft

Bao-guo Wang: investigation, and provided the article's conception and feasibility analysis

Ya-fang Chen: conceptualization, and data curation

Jian-bo Fu: provided suggestions and helped revise the manuscript

Xing Tian: visualization, and validation

Bao-yun Ye: provided help with the software

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Bao-guo Wang.

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Mao, Js., Wang, Bg., Chen, Yf. et al. Molecular dynamics simulation of CL20/DNDAP cocrystal-based PBXs. J Mol Model 29, 199 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00894-023-05605-5

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