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Self-Affine Fractal Characterization of a TNT Fracture Surface

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 February 2011

L. V. Meisel
Affiliation:
U. S. Army TACOM-ARDEC, Benet Laboratories, Watervliet, NY 12189
R. D. Scanlon
Affiliation:
U. S. Army TACOM-ARDEC, Benet Laboratories, Watervliet, NY 12189
M. A. Johnson
Affiliation:
U. S. Army TACOM-ARDEC, Benet Laboratories, Watervliet, NY 12189
Y. D. Lanzerotti
Affiliation:
U. S. Army TACOM-ARDEC, Picatinny Arsenal, NJ 07806-5000
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Abstract

A trinitrotoluene (TNT) fracture surface image is characterized in terms of a self-affine fractal structure. The fracture surface was produced by high acceleration in an ultracentrifuge when the TNT strength was exceeded. An atomic force microscope (AFM) captured the topography of a 4 micron square region on the fracture surface. The present analysis supports a self-affine description of the TNT fracture surface (wavelengths of 0.016 micron to 4.0 micron) and provides a new prespective on fracture processes in TNT. An essential step in self-affine fractal characterization of surfaces is the determination of reference surfaces. A self-affine fracture surface can be described in terms of a single-valued height function. In the TNT fracture surface, single-valued height functions, which describe surface texture can only be defined with respect to curved reference surfaces. By employing curved reference surfaces, we have demonstrated that self-affine fractal scaling can be used to characterize the TNT fracture surface. This provides important information that is not evident in the analysis of individual surface scans.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2000

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References

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