Alumina-filled epoxies are composites having constituents with highly dissimilar mechanical properties. Complex behavior during shock compression and release can result, particularly at higher alumina loadings. In the current study, a particular material containing 43% alumina by volume was examined in planar-impact experiments. Laser interferometry was used to measure particle velocity histories in both reverse-impact and transmitted-wave configurations. Hugoniot states and release-wave velocities were obtained at shock stresses up to 10GPa, and represented smooth extensions of previous data at lower stresses. Surprisingly high release-wave velocities continued to be the most notable feature. Measured profiles of transmitted waves show a gradual transition from viscoelastic behavior at high shock stresses to a more complex behavior at lower stresses in which viscous mechanisms produce a broadened wave structure. This wave structure was examined in some detail for peak stress dependence, evolution towards steady-wave conditions, and initial temperature effects.
The response of porous titanium (Ti) and silicon (Si) powder mixtures with small, medium, and coarse particle morphologies is studied under high-pressure shock loading, employing postshock materials analysis as well as nanosecond, time-resolved pressure measurements. The objective of the work was to provide an experimental basis for development of models describing shock-induced solid-state chemistry. The time-resolved measurements of stress pulses obtained with piezoelectric polymer (poly-vinyl-di-flouride) pressure gauges provided extraordinary sensitivity for determination of rate-dependent shock processes. Both techniques showed clear evidence for shock-induced chemical reactions in medium-morphology powders, while fine and coarse powders showed no evidence for reaction. It was observed that the medium-morphology mixtures experience simultaneous plastic deformation of both Ti and Si particles. Fine morphology powders show particle agglomeration, while coarse Si powders undergo extensive fracture and entrapment within the plastically deformed Ti; such processes decrease the propensity for initiation of shock-induced reactions. The change of deformation mode between fracture and plastic deformation in Si powders of different morphologies is a particularly critical observation. Such a behavior reveals the overriding influence of the shock-induced, viscoplastic deformation and fracture response, which controls the mechanochemical nature of shock-induced solid-state chemistry. The present work in conjunction with our prior studies, demonstrates that the initiation of chemical reactions in shock compression of powders is controlled by solid-state mechanochemical processes, and cannot be qualitatively or quantitatively described by thermochemical models.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.