Experimental Study on the Reaction Zone Distribution of Impact-Induced Reactive Materials

The energy release behaviors of a metal-fluoropolymer composite impact-induced reactive material (IRM) under high dynamic impact loading were investigated using a new partition pressure test and the multipoint pressure test. The results indicated that a reverse reaction zone and a subsequent reaction zone were formed along the impact direction as the IRM impacted on an aluminum plate at the velocity of 1050–1450 m s⁻¹. The total energy release increased with the increase of impact velocity and the energy released from the impact reaction of IRM in the reverse reaction zone was only 20–30 % of the total energy. Most energy release occurred in the subsequent reaction zone, which was composed of an impact decomposition reaction zone, a thermal decomposition reaction zone and a combustion reaction zone. Three IRM including Al/PTFE, Mg/PTFE, and Ti/PTFE were tested. The Ti/PTFE was most sensitive to the impact velocity, but exhibited the lowest energy release rate. The energy release from the impact reaction of Mg/PTFE was mainly due to the combustion reaction. The high energy release of Al/PTFE was mainly from deflagration reaction. This work provides experimental methods and data for the formulation and evaluation of IRM in engineering applications.