COMPUTER TOMOGRAPHY-BASED FRAGMENTATION ANALYSIS OF REACTIVE MATERIALS

A novel experimental method analyzes the fragmentation patterns of Reactive Structural Materials (RSMs) as a function of velocity and time. The approach combines a soft-catch medium with computed tomography. This results in high-resolution, three-dimensional reconstructions of individual fragments, including their internal structural integrity. Zirconium cylinders perforate 7075 aluminum target plates, and the resulting fragmentation patterns were examined. The method demonstrated high accuracy, revealing the progression of zirconium damage patterns with increasing velocity. Furthermore, it is shown that additional reaction time had no influence on the examined fragments. This approach offers a tool for investigating the relationship between impact-induced energy release in RSMs and their fragmentation mechanisms, providing insights into their dynamic behavior.