Experimental investigation of the behaviour of a simulant material for plastic-bonded explosives and modelling of the effectivity and damage induced anisotropy

This paper presents an original experimental investigation and modelling of the behaviour of a simulant material for Plastic-Bonded Explosives (PBXs). The conducted tests are tension, compression, alternated tension/compression, confined compression, channel-die, and DMA. The experimental dispositive and protocols are presented and detailed. Monotonic and cyclic tests are conducted in addition to alternated and non-proportional tests. The obtained results are presented and discussed. A special focus was put on the damage induced anisotropy and the effectivity in the material behaviour. Also, hydrostatic pressure and strain rate dependencies and the presence of hysteresis loops and irreversible strains, are highlighted. Based on the experimental results, damage evolution laws and novel effectivity functions are proposed to model the material behaviour in the quasi-static domain. • New experiments to investigate damage induced anisotropy and damage effectivity. • Experimental study for a simulant for Plastic Bonded Explosives with multiaxial, alternated, and non-proportional tests. • New modelling approach of damage induced anisotropy and effectivity highlighted and investigated experimentally.