This collection includes most of the ASU Theses and Dissertations from 2011 to present. ASU Theses and Dissertations are available in downloadable PDF format; however, a small percentage of items are under embargo. Information about the dissertations/theses includes degree information, committee members, an abstract, supporting data or media.

In addition to the electronic theses found in the ASU Digital Repository, ASU Theses and Dissertations can be found in the ASU Library Catalog.

Dissertations and Theses granted by Arizona State University are archived and made available through a joint effort of the ASU Graduate College and the ASU Libraries. For more information or questions about this collection contact or visit the Digital Repository ETD Library Guide or contact the ASU Graduate College at gradformat@asu.edu.

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Description
In this dissertation, the results of our comprehensive computational studies of disordered jammed (i.e., mechanically stable) packings of hard particles are presented, including the family of superdisks in 2D and ellipsoids in 3D Euclidean space. Following a very brief introduction to the hard-particle systems, the event driven molecular dynamics (EDMD)

In this dissertation, the results of our comprehensive computational studies of disordered jammed (i.e., mechanically stable) packings of hard particles are presented, including the family of superdisks in 2D and ellipsoids in 3D Euclidean space. Following a very brief introduction to the hard-particle systems, the event driven molecular dynamics (EDMD) employed to generate the packing ensembles will be discussed. A large number of 2D packing configurations of superdisks are subsequently analyzed, through which a relatively accurate theoretical scheme for packing-fraction prediction based on local particle contact configurations is proposed and validated via additional numerical simulations. Moreover, the studies on binary ellipsoid packing in 3D are briefly discussed and the effects of different geometrical parameters on the final packing fraction are analyzed.
ContributorsXu, Yaopengxiao (Author) / Jiao, Yang (Thesis advisor) / Oswald, Jay (Committee member) / Liu, Yongming (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
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Description
The study of deflagration to detonation transition (DDT) in explosives is of prime importance with regards to insensitive munitions (IM). Critical damage owing to thermal or shock stimuli could translate to significant loss of life and material. The present study models detonation and deflagration of a commonly used granular explosive:

The study of deflagration to detonation transition (DDT) in explosives is of prime importance with regards to insensitive munitions (IM). Critical damage owing to thermal or shock stimuli could translate to significant loss of life and material. The present study models detonation and deflagration of a commonly used granular explosive: cyclotetramethylene-tetranitramine, HMX. A robust literature review is followed by computational modeling of gas gun and DDT tube test data using the Sandia National Lab three-dimensional multi-material Eulerian hydrocode CTH. This dissertation proposes new computational practices and models that aid in predicting shock stimulus IM response. CTH was first used to model experimental data sets of DDT tubes from both Naval Surface Weapons Center and Los Alamos National Laboratory which were initiated by pyrogenic material and a piston, respectively. Analytical verification was performed, where possible, for detonation via empirical based equations at the Chapman Jouguet state with errors below 2.1%, and deflagration via pressure dependent burn rate equations. CTH simulations include inert, history variable reactive burn and Arrhenius models. The results are in excellent agreement with published HMX detonation velocities. Novel additions include accurate simulation of the pyrogenic material BKNO3 and the inclusion of porosity in energetic materials. The treatment of compaction is especially important in modeling precursory hotspots, caused by hydrodynamic collapse of void regions or grain interactions, prior to DDT of granular explosives. The CTH compaction model of HMX was verified within 11% error via a five pronged validation approach using gas gun data and employed use of a newly generated set of P-α parameters for granular HMX in a Mie-Gruneisen Equation of State. Next, the additions of compaction were extended to a volumetric surface burning model of HMX and compare well to a set of empirical burn rates. Lastly, the compendium of detonation and deflagration models was applied to the aforementioned DDT tubes and demonstrate working functionalities of all models, albeit at the expense of significant computational resources. A robust hydrocode methodology is proposed to make use of the deflagration, compaction and detonation models as a means to predict IM response to shock stimulus of granular explosive materials.
ContributorsMahon, Kelly Susan (Author) / Lee, Taewoo (Thesis advisor) / Herrmann, Marcus (Committee member) / Chen, Kangping (Committee member) / Jiao, Yang (Committee member) / Huang, Huei-Ping (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2015
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Description
Granular materials demonstrate complexity in many physical attributes with various shapes and sizes, varying from several centimeters down to less than a few microns. Some materials are highly cohesive, while others are free-flowing. Despite such complexity in their physical properties, they are extremely important in industries dealing with bulk materials.

Granular materials demonstrate complexity in many physical attributes with various shapes and sizes, varying from several centimeters down to less than a few microns. Some materials are highly cohesive, while others are free-flowing. Despite such complexity in their physical properties, they are extremely important in industries dealing with bulk materials. Through this research, the factors affecting flowability of particulate solids and their interaction with projectiles were explored. In Part I, a novel set of characterization tools to relate various granular material properties to their flow behavior in confined and unconfined environments was investigated. Through this work, a thorough characterization study to examine the effects of particle size, particle size distribution, and moisture on bulk powder flowability were proposed. Additionally, a mathematical model to predict the flow function coefficient (FFC) was developed, based on the surface mean diameter and moisture level, which can serve as a flowability descriptor. Part II of this research focuses on the impact dynamics of low velocity projectiles on granular media. Interaction of granular media with external foreign bodies occurs in everyday events like a human footprint on the beach. Several studies involving numerical and experimental methods have focused on the study of impact dynamics in both dry and wet granular media. However, most of the studies involving impact dynamics considered spherical projectiles under different conditions, while practical models should involve more complex, realistic shapes. Different impacting geometries with conserved density, volume, and velocity on a granular bed may experience contrasting drag forces upon penetration. This is due to the difference in the surface areas coming into contact with the granular media. In this study, a set of non-spherical geometries comprising cuboids, cylinders, hexagonal prisms and triangular prisms with constant density, volume, and impact velocities, were released onto a loosely packed, non-cohesive, dry granular bed. From these experimental results, a model to determine the penetration depth of projectiles upon impact was developed and how it is influenced by the release height and surface area of the projectiles in contact with the granular media was studied.
ContributorsVajrala, Spandana (Author) / Emady, Heather N (Thesis advisor) / Marvi, Hamidreza (Committee member) / Jiao, Yang (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2021