Dynamic compression-shear response of brittle materials with specimen recovery

A new configuration for compression-shear soft-recovery experiments is presented. This technique is used to investigate various failure mechanisms during dynamic multiaxial loading of an Al₂O₃/SiC nanocomposite and TiB₂. Velocity profiles of the target surface are measured with a variable sensitivity displacement interferometer, yielding normal and transverse velocity-time histories. A dynamic shear stress of approximately 280 MPa is obtained, in the Al₂O₃/SiC nanocomposite, for an imposed axial stress of about 3.45 GPa on a 540 m thick sample. This dynamic shear stress is well below the value predicted by elastic wave propagation theory. This could be the result of stress-induced damage and inelasticity in the bulk of the sample or inelasticity on the sample surface due to frictional sliding. To gain further insight into the possible failure mechanisms, an investigation of compression-shear recovery techniques, with simultaneous trapping of longitudinal and lateral release waves, is conducted.