X-ray scattering from warm dense iron

We have carried out X-ray scattering experiments on iron foil samples that have been compressed and heated using laser-driven shocks created with the VULCAN laser system at the Rutherford-Appleton Laboratory. This is the highest Z element studied in such experiments so far and the first time scattering from warm dense iron has been reported. Because of the importance of iron in telluric planets, the work is relevant to studies of warm dense matter in planetary interiors. We report scattering results as well as shock breakout results that, in conjunction with hydrodynamic simulations, suggest the target has been compressed to a molten state at several 100 GPa pressure. Initial comparison with modelling suggests more work is needed to understand the structure factor of warm dense iron.     

Phase transition and dynamics of iron under ramp wave compression

The ramp wave compression experiments of iron with different thicknesses were performed on the magnetically driven ramp loading device CQ-4. Numerical simulations of this process were done with Hayes multi-phase equation of state (H-MEOS) and dynamic equations of phase transition. The calculated results of H-MEOS are in good agreement with those of shock phase transition, but are different from those under ramp wave compression. The reason for this is that the bulk modulus of the material in the Hayes model and the wave velocity are considered constant. Shock compression is a jump from the initial state to the final state, and the sound speed is related to the slope of the Rayleigh line. However, ramp compression is a continuous process, and the bulk modulus is no longer a constant but a function of pressure and temperature. Based on Murnaghan equation of state, the first-order correction of the bulk modulus on pressure in the Hayes model was carried out. The numerical results of the corrected H-MEOS agree well with those of pure iron in both ramp and shock compression phase transition experiments. The calculated results show that the relaxation time of iron is about 30 ns and the phase transition pressure is about 13 GPa. There are obvious differences between the isentropic and adiabatic process in terms of pressure–specific volume and temperature–pressure. The fluctuation of the sound speed after 13 GPa is caused by the phase transition.     

内爆磁压缩准等熵加载过程分析与实验验证

利用磁流体力学程序SSS-MHD模拟了炸药柱面内爆磁通量压缩发生器CJ-100装置的加载过程,讨论了各项装置参数的影响,结果表明装置可达到的峰值磁场值与初始磁场值成反比关系。设计了铁/铜夹层结构的样品靶,在该型装置上开展纯铁的准等熵加载实验。利用光子多普勒测速探头测量到6.43 km/s的样品靶自由面速度,在DT4铁中获得206 GPa的准等熵加载压力。铁材料的压力-比容曲线与理论等熵线基本重合,表明内爆磁压缩加载过程具有较高的等熵程度。     

Ab initio investigation of a possible liquid–liquid phase transition in MgSiO3 at megabar pressures

We perform density functional molecular dynamics simulations of liquid and solid MgSiO₃ in the pressure range of 120–1600 GPa and for temperatures up to 20,000 K in order to provide new insight into the nature of the liquid–liquid phase transition that was recently predicted on the basis of decaying laser shock wave experiments [Phys. Rev. Lett. 108 (2012) 065701]. However, our simulations did not show any signature of a phase transition in the liquid phase. We derive the equation of state for the liquid and solid phases and compute the shock Hugoniot curves. We discuss different thermodynamic functions and by explore alternative interpretations of the experimental findings.     

磁驱动平面准等熵加载装置、实验技术及应用研究新进展

利用脉冲大电流装置产生随时间变化平滑上升的磁压力,实现对平面、柱面等不同结构样品的磁驱动准等熵（斜波）压缩,为极端条件下材料动力学研究提供了一种偏离Hugoniot状态热力学路径的加载手段。本文从磁驱动准等熵加载装置、实验技术、数据处理方法等方面综述了磁驱动准等熵加载技术研究近十年的新进展,评述了利用磁驱动准等熵加载技术和方法开展极端条件下材料高压状态方程、高压强度与本构关系、相变与相变动力学等方面研究的进展情况,展望了磁驱动准等熵加载技术发展及其在材料动力学、武器物理和高能量密度物理等方面的应用前景。     

Shock response of a heavy tungsten alloy

This article describes the results of shock wave experiments performed on a heavy tungsten alloy containing W, Ni, and Fe in the ratio of 92.85:4.9:2.25 by weight. These experiments provide information about the shear strength under compression and tensile strength, as measured by the spall threshold, of this alloy to 24 GPa. The results of these experiments show that: (i) the magnitude of its Hugoniot elastic limit (HEL) is 2.76±0.26 GPa; (ii) this alloy deforms plastically above its HEL and thus retains its shear strength to 24 GPa; (iii) the spall strength of the alloy is found to be 1.9±0.4 GPa and is independent of the impact stress and duration of the shock compression pulse; and (iv) the tensile impedance of the alloy, determined from a new experiment designed to measure this impedance, is 68±10 Gg/m² s.     

磁驱动准等熵压缩下LY12铝的强度测量

高压高应变率加载下材料的强度研究一直是冲击动力学的一个难题,目前动态载荷下材料的高压强度测量主要是基于平板撞击技术,冲击温升和应变率效应对材料强度的影响难以分离. 基于小型磁驱动加载装置CQ-4,开展了磁驱动准等熵压缩下LY12 铝的声速和强度测量的实验研究,讨论了考虑加载-卸载过程时磁驱动压缩实验的负载电极设计、实验样品设计、数据处理与分析等内容,并获得了12 GPa 压力范围沿加载-卸载路径的声速变化和峰值压力点的强度数据.      

High-pressured solid atomic hydrogen with photodissociation

A novel method to realize solid metallic hydrogen is proposed as a new path to high energy density states of hydrogen. High-pressured atomic hydrogen could be metalized at a density of 0.1 g/cm³ below 1000 K, which is much less than the previously expected in the solid molecular hydrogen(about 1.43 g/cm³ at 300 K). This density will be obtained at pressures of less than 100 GPa with a conventional static compression technique. Atomic hydrogen at this density could be created from molecular hydrogen using three-photon absorption of a 250 nm short pulse laser light to cause photodissociation. Calculations taking into account the wavefunction of the molecular hydrogen are presented.     

RDX(210)单晶准等熵压缩实验的数值分析

基于准等熵压缩实验,建立了考虑线弹塑性效应的反积分数学模型,并针对Sandia的含能材料RDX(210)的无反应准等熵压缩实验数据,进行了数值模拟和分析.结果表明,本文模型可以恰当地描述该含能材料的准等熵压缩实验过程,可以得到与文献结果吻合较好的样品加载速度历史;计算得到了样品内部任意位置直至加载面上的信息、应力应变和...     

Investigation of the effect of pressure on some physical parameters and thermoelastic phase transformation of NiAl alloy

The Ni–Al alloys which exhibit the thermoelastic phase transformations in the composition range from 60 to 65 atomic percentage of Ni are widely used in the high technology applications. In this study, thermoelastic phase transformations of Ni–37.5 at.% Al alloys at 0, 1 and 2 GPa pressures were investigated by using MD simulation. Physical interactions among atoms in the alloy system were modelled using Sutton–Chen version of the embedded atom method based on many-body interactions. The potential parameters for cross interactions between Ni and Al atoms were estimated by optimising the results obtained from the molecular dynamics simulations. Moreover, the effect of applied pressure on transformation temperatures, enthalpy, entropy and elastic energy of model alloy system were investigated. The obtained result showed that the transformation temperature increased with applied pressure while enthalpy, entropy and elastic energy decreased. The values of the thermodynamical parameters that obtained in this study are in very good agreement with results of experimental studies.     

Ultrafast high repetition rate absorption spectroscopy of polymer shock compression

A dual-beam transient absorption spectrometer for high repetition rate (80 shocks per second) studies of shock compressed materials is described. The apparatus time response is 100 ps, so the time resolution of the shock compression process is generally limited by the shock transit time across the sample. In turn the sample thickness is limited by the sensitivity of the spectrometer. Using 400 nm thick samples of R640 dye aggregates in \textit{poly} methyl methacrylate (PMMA) and a 4.2 GPa laser-driven shock, transient absorption spectra show a shock induced absorption redshift occurring in 500 ps, considerably longer than the 200 ps shock front transit time (round trip) through the sample. This noninstantaneous shock compression is consistent with the $\sim 300$ ps viscoelastic response of PMMA at 4.2 GPa. Received 30 July 2001 / Accepted 13 March 2002 – Published online 17 June 2002     

Metallization of fluid hydrogen at 140 GPa (1.4 Mbar) by shock compression

Shock compression was used to produce the first observation of a metallic state of condensed hydrogen. The conditions of metallization are a pressure of 140 GPa (1.4 Mbar), 0.6 g/cm (ninefold compression of initial liquid-H density), and 3000 K. The relatively modest temperature generated by a reverberating shock wave produced the metallic state in a warm fluid at a lower pressure than expected previously for the crystallographically ordered solid at low temperatures. The relatively large sample diameter of 25 mm permitted measurement of electrical conductivity. The experimental technique and data analysis are described. Received 12 November 1997 / Accepted 10 November 1998     

Transformations of graphite and boron nitride in shock waves

Peculiarities of shock adiabat of graphite are attributed to the graphite–diamond transformation. However only a very small amount of diamond can be recovered from pure shocked graphite with a density approaching the theoretical value. In order to interpret this fact, accessible data concerning the behaviour of graphite under static and dynamic load have been analysed. An additional peculiarity of the shock adiabat of graphite has been found at 12 GPa by analysing compressibility data. It has been attributed to shearing in the basal planes that paves the way for deformation of the planes. An isotherm of cold compression of graphite can be constructed on the basis of the results from theoretical modelling published in the literature. Another isotherm, fitting experimental data, has been proposed. An isotherm for graphitic boron nitride has been also proposed. The isotherms have been used in the interpretation of the peculiarities of shock adiabats. It has been shown that the so-called “mixed-phase” region is an apparent compressibility curve. Energy evaluations based on the isotherms have proved that the peculiarities of the shock adiabat of graphite correspond to the formation of hexagonal instead of cubic diamond. Similarly the formation of the wurtzite modification of BN is responsible for the peculiarities of the shock adiabat of BN. Literature data concerning the mechanism of the polymorphous transformations of graphite and BN in shock waves have been reviewed. On the basis of proposed isotherms of cold compression, the activation energy has been appraised and an equation of kinetics proposed. The equation has been analysed by comparing results of theoretical modelling and accessible experimental data. Received 11 March 1993 / Accepted 15 September 1993     

Spall strength of glass fiber reinforced polymer composites

In the present paper results of a series of plate impact experiments designed to study spall strength in glass–fiber reinforced polymer composites (GRP) are presented. Two GRP architectures are investigated—S2 glass woven roving in Cycom 4102 polyester resin matrix and a balanced 5-harness satin weave E-glass in a Ciba epoxy (LY564) matrix. The GRP specimens were shock loaded using an 82.5 mm bore single-stage gas-gun. A velocity interferometer was used to measure the particle velocity profile at the rear (free) surface of the target plate. The spall strength of the GRP was obtained as a function of the normal component of the impact stress and the applied shear-strain by subjecting the GRP specimens to normal shock compression and combined shock compression and shear loading, respectively. The spall strengths of the two GRP composites were observed to decrease with increasing levels of normal shock compression. Moreover, superposition of shear-strain on the normal shock compression was found to be highly detrimental to the spall strength. The E-glass reinforced GRP composite was found to have a much higher level of spall strength under both normal shock compression and combined compression and shear loading when compared to the S2-glass GRP composite. The maximum spall strength of the E-glass GRP composite was found to be 119.5 MPa, while the maximum spall strength for the S2 glass GRP composite was only 53.7 MPa. These relatively low spall strength levels of the S2-glass and the E-glass fiber reinforced composites have important implications to the design and development of GRP-based light-weight integral armor.     

Studying astrophysical collisionless shocks with counterstreaming plasmas from high power lasers

Collisions of high Mach number flows occur frequently in astrophysics, and the resulting shock waves are responsible for the properties of many astrophysical phenomena, such as supernova remnants, Gamma Ray Bursts and jets from Active Galactic Nuclei. Because of the low density of astrophysical plasmas, the mean free path due to Coulomb collisions is typically very large. Therefore, most shock waves in astrophysics are “collisionless”, since they form due to plasma instabilities and self-generated magnetic fields. Laboratory experiments at the laser facilities can achieve the conditions necessary for the formation of collisionless shocks, and will provide a unique avenue for studying the nonlinear physics of collisionless shock waves. We are performing a series of experiments at the Omega and Omega-EP lasers, in Rochester, NY, with the goal of generating collisionless shock conditions by the collision of two high-speed plasma flows resulting from laser ablation of solid targets using ∼10¹⁶ W/cm² laser irradiation. The experiments will aim to answer several questions of relevance to collisionless shock physics: the importance of the electromagnetic filamentation (Weibel) instabilities in shock formation, the self-generation of magnetic fields in shocks, the influence of external magnetic fields on shock formation, and the signatures of particle acceleration in shocks. Our first experiments using Thomson scattering diagnostics studied the plasma state from a single foil and from double foils whose flows collide “head-on”. Our data showed that the flow velocity and electron density were 10⁸ cm/s and 10¹⁹ cm⁻³, respectively, where the Coulomb mean free path is much larger than the size of the interaction region. Simulations of our experimental conditions show that weak Weibel mediated current filamentation and magnetic field generation were likely starting to occur. This paper presents the results from these first Omega experiments.     

Thermal and mechanical analysis of material response to non-steady ramp and steady shock wave loading

Ramp wave experiments on the Sandia Z accelerator provide a new approach to study the rapid compression response of materials at pressures, temperatures and stress or strain rates not attainable in conventional shock experiments. Due to its shockless nature, the ramp wave experiment is often termed as an isentropic (or quasi-isentropic) compression experiment (ICE). However, in reality there is always some entropy produced when materials are subjected to large amplitude compression even under shockless loading. The entropy production mechanisms that cause deformation to deviate from the isentropic process can be attributed to mechanical and thermal dissipations. The former is due to inelasticity associated with various deformation mechanisms and the rate effect that is inherent in all the deformation processes and the latter is due to irreversible heat conduction. The main purpose of the current study is to gain insights into the effects of ramp and shock loading on the entropy production and thermomechanical responses of materials. Another purpose is to investigate the role of heat conduction in the material response to both the non-steady ramp wave and steady shock.Numerical simulations are used to address the aforementioned research objectives. The thermomechanical response associated with a steady shock wave is investigated first by solving a set of nonlinear ordinary differential equations. Using the steady wave solutions as the reference, the material responses under non-steady ramp waves are then studied with numerical wave propagation simulation. It is demonstrated that the material response to ramp and shock loading is essentially a manifestation of the interaction between the time scale associated with the loading and the intrinsic time scales associated with mechanical deformation and heat transfer. At lower loading rates as encountered in ramp loading, the loading path is closer to an isentrope and results in lower entropy production. The reasonable ramp rate to obtain a quasi-isentropic state depends on the intrinsic time scales of the dissipation mechanisms which are strongly material dependent. Thus shockless loading does not necessarily produce an isentropic response. Between two equilibrium states, heat conduction was shown to have significant effect on the temperature history but it contributes little to the overall temperature change if the specific heat remains constant. It also affects the history of entropy, but only the irreversible part of heat conduction contributes to the net entropy change. The various types of thermomechanical responses of materials would manifest themselves more significantly in terms of the thermal history than the mechanical history. Thus temperature measurement appears to be an important experimental tool in distinguishing the various mechanisms for the thermomechancial responses of the materials.     

基于Monte Carlo方法的磁驱动准等熵压缩实验不确定度量化评估

磁驱动准等熵压缩实验是研究材料偏离Hugoniot状态高压物性和动力学行为的重要实验技术之一,开展不确定量化评估具有重要意义和价值。基于Monte Carlo原理,结合磁驱动准等熵压缩实验过程分析、Lagrange分析和特征线正向数据处理方法建立了适用于此类实验的Monte Carlo不确定度量化评估方法,实现利用磁驱动准等熵压缩实验获取材料声速、应力、应变等物理量以及状态方程和本构关系等物理模型的不确定度量化评估。利用建立的不确定度评估方法,对文献中已开展的钽、铜和NiTi合金的磁驱动准等熵压缩实验结果进行不确定度量化评估与分析。结果表明,基于本文中方法的评估结果与国外文献以相同原理得到的评估结果一致。对基于CQ-4装置开展的NiTi合金磁驱动准等熵压缩实验的评估结果表明,设计的磁驱动准等熵压缩实验是一种可靠的精密物理实验。在此基础上,深入讨论了磁驱动准等熵压缩实验的误差相关性和敏感性。结果表明：台阶样品厚度和粒子速度的测量是影响实验精度的主要因素。     

Anomaly in the dynamic strength of austenitic stainless steel 12Cr19Ni10Ti under shock wave loading

Measurement results for the shock wave compression profiles of 12Cr19Ni10Ti steel and its dynamic strength in the strain rate range 10⁵–10⁶ s^?1 are presented. The protracted viscous character of the spall fracture is revealed. With the previously obtained data taken into account, the measurement results are described by a polynomial relation, which can be used to construct the fracture kinetics. On the lower boundary of the range, the resistance to spall fracture is close to the value of the true strength of the material under standard low-rate strain conditions; on the upper boundary, the spall strength is more than twice greater than this quantity. An increase in the temperature results in a decrease in both the dynamic limit of elasticity and the spall fracture strength of steel. The most interesting result is the anomaly in the dependence of the spall fracture strength on the duration of the shock wave compression pulse, which is related to the formation of deformation martensite near the growing discontinuities.     

Effect of Compressive Straining on Nanoindentation Elastic Modulus of Trabecular Bone

Trabecular bone with its porous structure is an important compressive load bearing member. Different structural factors such as porosity, non-homogeneous deformation, varying trabeculae thickness, connectivity, and nanoscale (10 nm to 1 μm) to macroscale (~0.1 mm to 10 mm) composition hierarchy determine the failure properties of trabecular bone. While the above factors have important bearing on bone properties, an understanding of how the local nanoscale properties change at different macroscale compressive strain levels can be important to develop an understanding of how bone fails. In the present work, such analyses are performed on bovine femoral trabecular bone samples derived from a single animal. Analyses focus on measuring nanoindentation elastic moduli at three distinct levels of compressive strains in the bone samples: (1) when the samples are not loaded; (2) after the samples have been loaded to a strain level just before apparent yielding and the macroscale compression test is stopped; and (3) after the samples have been compressed to a strain level after apparent yielding and the macroscale compression test is stopped. Nanoindentation elastic modulus values are two orders of magnitude higher than the macroscale compressive elastic modulus values of all samples. A high variability in macroscale compressive elastic modulus values is observed because of porous architecture and small sample size. Nanoindentation elastic modulus values show a progressive reduction with increase in the extent of macroscale compressive deformation. Apparent yielding has a significant effect on this trend. The decrease in nanoindentation modulus value for all samples accelerates from approximately 20% before yielding to approximately 60% after yielding in comparison to the nanoindentation modulus values at 0% strain level. The level of variation in the predicted nanoindentation modulus values is the lowest for uncompressed samples (~16–18%). However, with increase in the extent of compression, the level of variation increases. It varied between 50% and 90% for the samples tested after yielding showing a widespread heterogeneity in local nanoscale structural order after apparent yielding. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) observations suggest that apparent yielding significantly destroys local nanoscale structural order. However, quantitative results suggest that a significant residual nanoscale stiffness varying from 5 GPa to 8 GPa among different samples still remains for possible repair facilitation.     

Discrete element simulation of shock wave propagation in polycrystalline copper

The implementation of the characteristic of compressive plasticity into the Discrete Element Code, DM2, while maintaining its quasi-molecular scheme, is described. The code is used to simulate the shock compression of polycrystalline copper at 3.35 and 11.0 GPa. The model polycrystal has a normal distribution of grain sizes, with mean diameter 14 μm, and three distinct grain orientations are permitted with respect to the shock direction; 〈1 0 0〉, 〈1 1 0〉, and 〈1 1 1〉. Particle velocity dispersion (PVD) is present in the shock-induced flow, attaining its maximum magnitude at the plastic wave rise. PVD normalised to the average particle velocity of and are yielded for the 3.35 and 11.0 GPa shocks, respectively, and are of the same order as those seen in the experiment. Non-planar elastic and plastic wave fronts are present, the distribution in shock front position increasing with propagation distance. The rate of increase of the spread in shock front positions is found to be significantly smaller than that seen in probabilistic calculations on nickel polycrystals, and this difference is attributed, in the main, to grain interaction. Reflections at free surfaces yield a region of tension near to the target free surface. Due to the dispersive nature of the shock particle velocity and the non-planarity of the shock front, the tensile pressure is distributed. This may have implications for the spall strength, which are discussed. Simulations reveal a transient shear stress distribution behind the shock front. Such a distribution agrees with that put forward by Lipkin and Asay to explain the quasi-elastic reloading phenomenon. Simulation of reloading shocks show that the shear stress distribution can give rise to quasi-elastic reloading on the grain scale.