Shockwave response of graphene aerogels: An all-atom simulation study

SP Patil and A Kulkarni and B Markert, COMPUTATIONAL MATERIALS SCIENCE, 189, 110252 (2021).

DOI: 10.1016/j.commatsci.2020.110252

Graphene aerogels, the lightest material in the world, have made their mark in the research community due to their exceptional physical properties. In the present work, the shockwave response of graphene aerogels of a wide range of densities from 149 to 679 kg/m(3) is investigated according to the reverse-ballistic approach using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. For the considered range of densities and particle velocities (40-160 angstrom/ps), the Shock-Hugoniot curves show a linear behavior between the shock velocity and the particle velocity. Moreover, with an increase in the density of graphene aerogels, a linear increase in the slope values was found. Furthermore, after an impact of graphene aerogels on the reflecting wall, von-Mises stresses were continuously growing until the highest compression point. The outcome of this work shows that graphene aerogel can be a potential material for shockwave and high-energy absorption applications.

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