A coarse-grain reactive model of RDX: Molecular resolution at the μm scale

Predictive models for the thermal, chemical, and mechanical response of high explosives at extreme conditions are important for investigating their performance and safety. We introduce a particle-based, reactive model of 1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazinane (RDX) with molecular resolution utilizing generalized energy-conserving dissipative particle dynamics with reactions. The model is parameterized with respect to the data from atomistic molecular dynamics simulations as well as from quantum mechanical calculations, thus bridging atomic processes to the mesoscales, including microstructures and defects. It accurately captures the response of RDX under a range of thermal loading conditions compared to atomistic simulations. In addition, the Hugoniot response of the CG model in the overdriven regime reasonably matches atomistic simulations and experiments. Exploiting the model’s high computational efficiency, we investigate mesoscale systems involving millions of molecules and characterize size-dependent criticality of hotspots in RDX. The combination of accuracy and computational efficiency of our reactive model provides a tool for investigation of mesoscale phenomena, such as the role of microstructures and defects in the shock-to-deflagration transition, through particle-based simulation.