Experimental mechanical characterization of plastic-bonded explosives

This article deals with the characterization of the static mechanical behavior of an energetic material. Due to its constituents (crystals and a polymeric binder), the behavior is complicated to model. A specific experimental protocol has been proposed in this article. It involves uniaxial tensile and compressive tests, compression under confinement and dynamic mechanical analysis. A constitutive law has been developed. The behavior is described using a Maxwell's model, in which all the components are influenced by an isotropic damage. The first component takes into account an elasto-plastic behavior. The yield stress evolution is described using a parabolic criterion and an isotropic hardening law. The plastic flow rule is non-associated. A linear visco-elastic behavior is used for the other components. Numerical simulations show that experimental data are quite well reproduced. The last part of the article is devoted to a discussion highlighting the future improvements.