MOLECULAR-DYNAMICS SIMULATIONS OF VOID COLLAPSE IN SHOCKED MODEL-MOLECULAR SOLIDS

We have carried out a series of molecular-dynamics simulations on a model three-dimensional molecular solid to study the dynamics of shock-induced collapse of void defects. Molecular-dynamics methods were used for a model system of identical particles arranged as diatomic molecules aligned with the center of mass of each molecule at fcc lattice sites, using a {111} layering for the two-dimensional boundary conditions. The diatoms were internally coupled via a harmonic potential; all other interactions were modeled with Morse potentials between all particles other than the immediate diatomic partner. Using this model, we have investigated the effect of a cylindrical void at right angles to the direction of layering (and impact). Depending on the strength of the incident shock wave, the void is found to collapse either smoothly and symmetrically (like a balloon gradually losing air), or asymmetrically and turbulently. In the latter case, we note the transient formation (for periods of several hundreds of femtoseconds) of ''hot spots'' at the void location both in terms of the local effective temperature and the vibrational energies of the diatoms.