Mechanical response characteristics of HMX crystals under resonant acoustic mixing

Understanding the mechanical response characteristics and determining the optimized process conditions is critical to mitigate crystal impacts during resonant acoustic mixing (RAM). Therefore, high-melting explosive (HMX) crystal collisions with container walls under different RAM accelerations were investigated through simulations and experiments. The HMX crystal damages after RAM were assessed using microscopic imaging, small-angle X-ray scattering, and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller tests. Results show that crystal fractures observed in steel containers can be prevented by using low-modulus polytetrafluoroethylene containers. Rough containers reduce internal damage but increase surface abrasion. Lower RAM accelerations, shorter RAM durations, and low-modulus containers can mitigate HMX crystal damage.