Effect of Wax/Graphene Composite Coating on Friction Characteristics of Single Compound Explosive Crystal HMX Interface

ZHU Xiao; HE Hongtu; LI Guocheng; WANG Jingkai; YU Jiaxin; YIN Ying

doi:10.16490/j.cnki.issn.1001-3660.2025.23.009

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Surface Technology ›› 2025, Vol. 54 ›› Issue (23) : 127-140. DOI: 10.16490/j.cnki.issn.1001-3660.2025.23.009

Friction, Wear and Lubrication

Effect of Wax/Graphene Composite Coating on Friction Characteristics of Single Compound Explosive Crystal HMX Interface

ZHU Xiao¹, HE Hongtu^1,*, LI Guocheng¹, WANG Jingkai², YU Jiaxin^1,*, YIN Ying²

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Abstract

As a representative energetic material, cyclotetramethylene tetranitramine (HMX, C₄H₈N₈O₈) has become a crucial energy carrier in modern high-energy weapon systems due to its high energy density and detonation velocity, currently finding extensive applications in defense fields such as polymer-bonded explosives (PBXs) and solid rocket propellants. However, the heat accumulation caused by interfacial friction during processing and transportation may trigger accidental ignition, posing a critical safety challenge. Current research primarily focuses on the macroscopic characterization of frictional temperature rise in PBXs, while significant knowledge gaps remain regarding to the microscopic mechanisms and active control methods for interfacial friction-induced temperature rise in HMX single compound explosives. Although surface coating technologies can remarkably improve the HMX's frictional safety, limitations such as lubricant performance degradation under extreme loads and insufficient thermal conduction efficiency still restrict the effectiveness of single-layer coatings. Furthermore, how will the composite coating that synergistically combines lubrication and thermal management affect the interfacial friction behavior of explosives remains unclear, this severely hinders the development of active frictional safety control technologies for explosives. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the inhibition mechanism of the wax/graphene composite coating on the frictional properties of HMX(110) crystal surfaces, with the goal of enhancing the frictional safety of HMX during mechanical processing and transportation and providing theoretical insights for improving the safety of energetic materials. ===To systematically elucidated the mechanism by which the wax/graphene composite coating suppresses the frictional characteristics of HMX(110) surfaces, interfacial tribological experiments on HMX explosive crystals were conducted with a reciprocating tribometer (MFT3000), and the counter-surface for the tribology was a HMX tip. To amplify the interfacial friction coefficient and temperature rise characteristics of HMX crystals, the experimental parameters were systematically configured with a contact pressure range of 30-60 MPa, sliding velocity of 50 mm/s, and friction distance of 15 mm. To ensure data reliability and reproducibility, each test was conducted in quintuplicate under identical tribological conditions. After the tribological experiment, post-test morphological characterization of HMX wear tracks was performed with an optical microscope (BX51-P), while chemical structural analysis of wear-induced scratches and debris was conducted via Raman spectroscopy. Real-time temperature monitoring at the HMX friction interface was achieved through a high-speed infrared thermography system, featuring a spatial resolution of 120 μm and temporal resolution of 5 ms, with thermal emissivity calibrated to 35% and measurement accuracy maintained within ±5%. For evaluating the frictional safety of coated HMX specimens, sensitivity testing was executed following the standard protocol GJB 5891.24—2006 with a BM-B pendulum friction apparatus. Specifically, 20 mg samples were compressed between hardened steel anvils and subject to 50 consecutive impacts at a 66° contact angle under 1.5 MPa pressure.===The results demonstrated that as the contact pressure increased from 30.9 MPa to 51.7 MPa, the wax/graphene composite coating reduced the surface friction coefficient of HMX by up to 71% and effectively suppressed interfacial frictional temperature rise by 83%. Notably, the composite coating showed superior performance to the wax coating, achieving additional reduction of 34% in friction coefficient and 33% in temperature rise. Further analyses revealed that the composite coating significantly inhibited the frictional work-heat conversion coefficient on HMX surfaces. The frictional work-heat conversion coefficient for uncoated HMX surfaces was 38%, it reduced to 31% with the application of the wax coating, and it further reduced to 24% with the application of the wax/graphene composite coating. This represents maximum reductions of approximately 36.8% and 22.6% compared with uncoated and wax-coated HMX, respectively. Additionally, the wax coating reduced the frictional sensitivity of HMX from 72% to 16%, while the wax/graphene composite coating achieved a further reduction of frictional sensitivity to 10%, demonstrating a 37.5% additional improvement over the wax coating. The observed results in the present study conclude that the wax/graphene composite coating, governed by dual mechanisms of reducing friction coefficient and frictional work-heat conversion coefficient, can effectively mitigate frictional thermal runaway at HMX interfaces by minimizing direct contact, dispersing energy accumulation, and accelerating heat dissipation. These findings can provide a theoretical foundation for the safety assessment of high-energy explosive materials.

Key words

HMX / wax/graphene composite coating / frictional properties / frictional work-heat conversion coefficient / frictional sensitivity

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ZHU Xiao, HE Hongtu, LI Guocheng, WANG Jingkai, YU Jiaxin, YIN Ying. Effect of Wax/Graphene Composite Coating on Friction Characteristics of Single Compound Explosive Crystal HMX Interface[J]. Surface Technology. 2025, 54(23): 127-140 https://doi.org/10.16490/j.cnki.issn.1001-3660.2025.23.009

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Funding

National Natural Science Foundation of China (52575239); the Tribology Science Fund of State Key Laboratory of Tribologyin Advanced Equipment (SKLTKF22A01); the Funding from the Sichuan Science and Technology Program (2024NSFSC0147, 2024NSFTD0019)