Supersonic Impact Response of Polymer Thin Films via Large-Scale Atomistic Simulations.

Recent nanoscale ballistic tests have shown the applicability of nanomaterials for ballistic protection but have raised questions regarding the nanoscale structure-property relationships that contribute to the ballistic response. Herein, we report on multimillion-atom reactive molecular dynamics simulations of the supersonic impact, penetration, and failure of polyethylene (PE) and polystyrene (PS) ultrathin films. The simulated specific penetration energy (*) versus impact velocity predicts to within 15% the experimentally determined * for PS.