Dynamic shearing resistance of molten metal films under high pressures and extremely high shearing rates

In the present study plate-impact pressureshear experiments have been conducted to study the dynamic shearing resistance of molten metal films at shearing rates of approximately 10⁷ s⁻¹. These molten films are generated by pressure-shear impact of relatively low melt-point metals such as 7075-T6 Al alloy with high hardness and high flow-strength tool-steel plates. By employing high impact speeds and relatively smooth impacting surfaces, normal interfacial pressures ranging from 1–3 GPa and slip speeds of over 100 m/s are generated during the pressure-shear loading. The resulting friction stress (∼100 to 400 MPa) combined with the high slip speeds generate conditions conductive to interfacial temperatures approaching the fully melt temperature regime of the lower melt-point metal (7075-T6 aluminum alloy) comprising the tribo-pair. During pressure-shear loading, laser interferometry is employed to measure normal and transverse motion at the rear surface of the target plate. The normal component of the particle velocity provides the interfacial normal traction while the transverse component provides the shearing resistance of the interface as it passes through melt. In order to extract the critical interfacial parameters, such as the interfacial slip-speed and interfacial temperatures, a Lagrangian finiteelement code is developed. The computational procedure accounts for dynamic effects, heat conduction, contact with friction, and full thermo-mechanical coupling. At temperatures below melt the flyer and target materials are described as an isotropic thermally softening elastic-viscoplastic solid. For material elements with temperatures in excess of the melt point, a purely Newtonian fluid constitutive model is employed. The results of this hybrid experimental-computational study provide insights into the dynamic shearing resistance of molten metal films at high pressures and extremely high shearing rates.