Self-healing nanostructured Block Copolymers for shock wave mitigation applications
Abstract
The understanding of shock wave propagation is crucial in the design of materials exposed to the influence of high deformation rates, as those involved in explosions or ballistic impacts. In particular, due to its light weight and versatility, organic polymers have proven to have excellent potential to mitigate or inhibit the undesired effects produced by the shock waves associated to these extreme events. While the dynamic properties of most materials at small deformations or deformation rates are now well established, little is known about the mechanisms of energy dissipation in polymeric systems at high deformation rates. In this project we propose to investigate the role of the self-assembled nanostructures developed by block copolymer macromolecules in the mechanisms of energy dissipation under deformation rates above 1000 s-1. As this regime of deformation rates involves the segmental motion of the polymer chains, in order to have a wide distribution of characteristic times for better energy dissipation, we propose to employ highly anisotropic block copolymers that combine constituents with a wide distribution of glass transition temperatures. It is expected that the self-organized nanostructures developed by block copolymer systems combined with the well-known properties of the individual building blocks can shed light on the factors that control the dynamic behavior of organic systems over the wide regime of time-scales involved in the process of shock wave attenuation. A more complete understanding about the leading factors that dictate the highly non-linear viscoelastic behavior would allow the design of new materials for shock wave mitigation.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- May 10, 2019
- Source ID
- W911NF1810401
Entities
People
- Daniel Vega
Organizations
- Army Contracting Command
- United States Army