Molecular dynamics simulations of jet breakup and ejecta production from a grooved Cu surface under shock loading

Large-scale non-equilibrium molecular dynamics simulations are performed to explore the jet breakup and ejecta production of single crystal Cu with a triangular grooved surface defect under shock loading. The morphology of the jet breakup and ejecta formation is obtained where the ejecta clusters remain spherical after a long simulation time. The effects of shock strength as well as groove size on the steady size distribution of ejecta clusters are investigated. It is shown that the size distribution of ejecta exhibits a scaling power law independent of the simulated shock strengths and groove sizes. This distribution, which has been observed in many fragmentation processes, can be well described by percolation theory.