Laminar, cellular, transverse, and turbulent detonations in condensed phase energetic materials from molecular dynamics simulations

The development of instabilities in condensed phase detonation is simulated using moving window molecular dynamics and a generic AB model of a high explosive. An initially planar detonation front with one-dimensional flow becomes unstable through the development of transverse perturbations. Highly inhomogeneous and complex two-dimensional cellular and transverse, and three-dimensional turbulent detonation structures were observed depending on the physico-chemical properties of the AB energetic material, sample geometry, and boundary conditions. The different regimes of condensed-phase detonation simulated by a moving window molecular dynamics technique exhibit structures, although at a much smaller scale, similar to those observed in gases and diluted liquids.