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It is now well known that solids under ultra-high-pressure shock compression will enter the warm dense matter (WDM) regime which connects condensed matter and hot plasma. How condensed matter turns into the WDM, however, remains largely unexplored due to the lack of data in the transition pressure range. In this letter, by employing the unique high-Z three-stage gas gun launcher technique developed recently, we compress gold into TPa shock pressure to fill the gap inaccessible by the two-stage gas gun and laser shock experiments. With the aid of high-precision Hugoniot data obtained experimentally, we observe a clear softening behavior beyond ~560 GPa. The state-of-the-art ab-initio molecular dynamics calculations reveal that the softening is caused by the ionization of 5d electrons in gold. This work quantifies the partial ionization effect of electrons under extreme conditions, which is critical to model the transition region between condensed matter and WDM.

A three-stage gas gun, composed of a two-stage gas gun and the add-on part, has been developed to launch high-Z (tantalum, for example) flyer plates up to 10 km/s for ultrahigh-pressure Hugoniot measurements. Great care has been taken to optimize the add-on part in which a specially designed graded density impactor is employed to quasi-isentropically accelerate the high-Z flyer plate for maximizing its impact velocity. The shock wave in the target generated by the flyer plate is characterized with the flatness of the shock-front better than 1 ns in the concerned area and the uncertainty of the shock-wave velocity less than 2%, thus satisfying the requirements for high-precision Hugoniot measurements. As a demonstration, we measured the ultrahigh-pressure Hugoniot equation of state of tantalum ranging from 0.45 TPa to 0.85 TPa with a symmetric impacting geometry in which the shock-wave velocity and the particle velocity are simultaneously determined. The results obtained are well consistent with data available in the literature, indicating the extended capability of the gas-gun launcher technique.

Different stoichiometries compounds formed by filled-shell (FS) insulators (e.g., xenon) have been extensively predicted and successfully synthesized under extreme conditions. However, theoretical prediction on solid solution formed by FS materials is lacking. Here, by combining structure searching and ab initiohybrid Metropolis-Monte Carlo/molecular dynamics simulations, we predict that the noble gas xenon and CsI can form thermodynamically stable substitutional solid solutions with hexagonal close-packed at high temperature and high pressure, in which Xe, Cs and I exhibit similar electronegativity and strong metallic feature that are analogous to the solid solution alloys. The existence of short-range order among constituent compositions improves the stability of solid solution. These results shed a new insight on the chemical reactivity between noble gases and alkali-halide compounds and provide valuable reference to understand the formation of multicomponent solid solutions under extreme conditions.

Finding the efficient and accurate schemes to calculate the melting temperature is important for molecular dynamics simulation. We propose a modified void method based on heterogeneous nucleation to validly calculate the melting temperature from solid-liquid coexistence state. It decreases the degree of superheating in the conventional voids method. The efficiency and accuracy of five methods (i.e., hysteresis method, two phase coexistence method, the interface pinning method, the Frenkel-Ladd path method and the modified void method) have been discussed in detail. The calculated results of hysteresis method strongly depend on heating/cooling rate. For the nonequilibrium thermodynamic integration method, the calculated accuracy is consistent with the interface pinning method for monoatomic Cu. For the modified void method the calculated results agree with the nonequilibrium thermodynamic integration method.

The mean-field potential (MFP) approach is an efficient way to evaluate the free energy contribution of ion motions for both solid and liquid states. In this paper the MFP is generally constructed with a volume-dependent term and a shape function. The former is derived in accordance with quasi-harmonic approximation. The latter is given semi-empirically. Application to multiphase equations of state for β-, γ- and liquid-tin has been examined. The theoretical phase diagram and thermodynamic properties of isotherm, thermal expansion, heat capacity, Hugoniot states as well as phase transitions are all in excellent agreement with experiments.

Two types of Mg-Cu composition system graded density impactors used for complex loading (shock loading and quasi-isentropic compression) are designed by the elastic-plastic hydrodynamic method in this paper. Mixtures of metal powders in the Mg-Cu system are cast into a series of 17 and 25 uniform compositions ranging from 100% Mg to 100% Cu. The graded density impactors are launched to the stationary 10 μm aluminum film and 12 mm LiF window targets by a two-stage light-gas gun in the National Key Laboratory for Shock Wave and Detonation Physics Research, Institute of Fluid Physics, CAEP, and the resulting wave profiles are measured with the DISAR system. Hydrodynamic simulation results are perfectly consistent with the experiments. Our work in this paper will set up a foundation for further research of controllable loading/releasing routes and rate experiments in the future.

We designed an Mg-W functionally graded-density materials system with two different sequences of density–thickness distributions and fabricated disk-like pellets with the graded-density materials by elaborate stacking of different metal powder layers, followed by a one-step hot-pressure sintering process. The microstructures of the sintered pellets were characterized using a scanning electronic microscope and a scanning acoustic microscope. The pellets were used as graded-density impactors (GDIs) to test their capabilities to produce complex particle-velocity wave profiles along a specified thermodynamic path. The wave profile was obtained from reverse-impact experiments using a two-stage light gas gun in which the GDI flyer impacted a lithium fluoride window. The particle-velocity history at the impact surface of the LiF window was deduced from the interference fringe numbers of the distance interferometer system for any reflector records. For GDIs consisting of nine composition layers of graded-density materials, the particle velocity profiles displayed combined shock loading and quasi-isentropic compressing and release processes. The impactor, consisting of 12 composition layers, produced wave profiles that contained shock loading, quasi-isentropic reloading, controlled releasing, and recompressing and released processes. The wave profiles simulated using a hydrodynamic computer model developed in house agree well with the experimental results as well as other theoretical results.

A shock-release model is proposed to calculate shock temperatures along the principal Hugoniot, and to relate initial shock (Hugoniot) to release melting (off-Hugoniot). Thus a melting point crossing the Hugoniot can be defined. For the shock-release model, an assumed configuration of baseplate(metal-sample)/window is modeled to formulate the initial shock and interfacial release processes, the Lindemann law is used to describe the melting behavior of metals at high pressure, and the Gruneisen equation of state is applied to express the relation between pressure and specific internal energy. The effect of melting on the Hugoniot temperature is considered in this model, so the pressure–temperature regime of solid–liquid mixed phase region can be outlined. Aluminum, lead, copper, molybdenum, iron, and uranium were chosen for modeling calculations. It was found from the comparison of calculated results with their high-pressure melting data from experimental measurements that for most investigated metals γ=γ0(ρ0/ρ) (where γ and ρ are Gruneisen parameter and density, respectively, and subscript 0 denotes ambient conditions) is a good approximation to γ at high pressure, and the melting latent heat (ΔHM) at high pressure is better estimated using ΔHM=RTM (where TM is the melting temperature, and R is the gas constant) than using ΔHM=TM⋅ΔSM0 (where ΔSM0 is the melting entropy at ambient pressure).

A heat conduction model for three parallel layers of dissimilar materials is proposed to describe the heat flow through the sample/μ m-size high-temperature layer/window after passage of a strong shock front. This model provides a possible approach to shock temperature measurements for metals using a disc sample. Using this model we derived a shock temperature or melting temperature of meteoritic iron based on the observed interfacial temperature by optical radiometry techniques. The data sets determined are in agreement with those measured using a film sample of stainless steel analogous to meteoritic iron in composition.

Several problems encountered in shock temperature measurements for metals using optical radiometry were discussed in detail. The influences of the driver/film gap upon the observed interface temperature history were formulated analytically, and the temperature relaxation behaviors at the film/window interface were also characterized. We found that the energy deposition at the driver/film gap would influence to varied degrees the film/window interface temperature profile unless the film deposited on the window can be regarded to have an infinite thickness. Modeling calculations showed that at shock pressures of a few megabars, the observed interface temperature of iron would be at least 300–600 K higher, relative to the prediction from the Grover model, provided that the gap and film were both 1 ∼ 2 pm thick. Additionally, a metal-plate sample was used to measure a reliable shock temperature based on one-dimensional heat conduction model for the plate-sample(driver)/ pm-gap/window setup we propose...

The sound velocities of vanadium at shock pressure ranging from 154 to 250 GPa were determined using transparent-window optical analyser techniques. A discontinuity in sound velocities at about 225 GPa may mark the partial melting under shock compression. The comparison between the measured sound velocity data sets above ~225 GPa and calculated values yields γ0≈2.0 and the empirical expression γρ = γ0ρ0 is basically tenable. Additionally, shock temperatures along the principal Hugoniot of vanadium were also determined from interfacial radiation intensities according to Grover's ideal interface model. Thus the temperature at this solid-liquid phase transition was constrained to be round about 7800(±800) K on the basis of the measured Hugoniot temperatures, melting temperatures, and high-pressure sound velocity variations with pressure.

Samples of the Jilin H5 chondrite were experimentally shock-loaded at the peak pressures of 12, 27, 39, 53, 78, 83, 93, and 133 GPa. The aim of this study is to compare experimentally shock-induced phenomena with those in naturally shocked chondrites and to test the feasibility of experimentally calibrating naturally induced shock phenomena in Hand L-chondrites. Planar fractures, mosaicism, brecciation in olivine and pyroxene, as well as transformation of plagioclase into diaplectic glass were observed in the Jilin samples shocked at pressures lower than 53 GPa. Shock-induced chondritic melts were first obtained at P > 78 GPa and more than 60% of the whole-rock melting was achieved at P similar to 133 GPa, and that shook-induced silicate melt consists of quenched microcrystalline olivine and pyroxene, metal, troilite and vesicular glass. No high-pressure phases were observed in any of the experimentally shocked samples, neither in the deformed nor in the molten regions. Deformation features in Jilin samples shock-loaded below 53 GPa are comparable to those found in H- and L-chondrites. The mineral assemblages in the molten regions in the shocked Jilin samples are also comparable to those encountered in the heavily shocked Yanzhuang (H6) and some Antarctic H-chondrites, but differ considerably from those found in heavily shocked Sixiangkou and many other L6 chondrites. Shock melt veins in L6 chondrites contain high-pressure polymorphs of olivine, pyroxene, plagioclase and high-pressure liquidus phases, whereas shock melt veins in heavily shocked H-chondrites contain mainly low-pressure mineral assemblages. The differences in the mineral constituents of shock melt veins in L- and H-chondrites clearly indicate differences in the shock histories of these meteorites. While crystallization in the shook melt veins in L-chondrites took place at high pressures, crystallization in shock-induced melt in most H-chondrites took place after decompression. It is evident that the thickness and abundance of shock melt veins and size of melt regions is not necessarily a quantitative measure of the degree of shock. The duration of the high-pressure regime, the time of the cooling and the P-T regime during the crystallization path, and the post-shock temperatures are stringent parameters that control the evolution of the shock-induced melt. So, scaling from shock experiments on millimeter-sized samples to natural shock features on kilometer-sized asteroids poses considerable problems in quantifying the P-T conditions during natural shock events on asteroids. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Dynamic strength behavior of Zr51Ti5Ni10Cu25Al9 bulk metallic glass (BMG) up to 66 GPa was investigated in a series of plate impact shock-release and shock-reload experiments. Particle velocity profiles measured at the sample/LiF window interface were used to estimate the shear stress, shear modulus, and yield stress in shocked BMG. Beyond confirming the previously reported strain-softening of shear stress during the shock loading process for BMGs, it is also shown that the softened Zr-BMG still has a high shear modulus and can support large yield stress when released or reloaded from the shocked state, and both the shear modulus and the yield stress appear as strain-hardening behaviors. The work provides a much clearer picture of the strength behavior of BMGs under shock loading, which is useful to comprehensively understand the plastic deformation mechanisms of BMGs.

The high-pressure solid phase stability of molybdenum (Mo) has been the center of a long-standing controversy on its high-pressure melting. In this work, experimental and theoretical researches have been conducted to check its solid phase stability under compression. First, we performed sound velocity measurements from 38 to 160 GPa using the two-stage light gas gun and explosive loading in backward- and forward-impact geometries, along with the high-precision velocity interferometry. From the sound velocities, we found no solid-solid phase transition in Mo before shock melting, which does not support the previous solid-solid phase transition conclusion inferred from the sharp drops of the longitudinal sound velocity [Hixson et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 62, 637 (1989)]. Then, we searched its structures globally using the multi-algorithm collaborative crystal structure prediction technique combined with the density functional theory. By comparing the enthalpies of body centered cubic structure with those of the metastable structures, we found that bcc is the most stable structure in the range of 0–300 GPa. The present theoretical results together with previous ones greatly support our experimental conclusions.

A series of reverse-impact experiments were performed on vanadium at shock pressure ranging from 32 GPa to 88 GPa. Particle velocity profiles measured at sample/LiF window interface were used to estimate the sound velocities, shear modulus, and yield stress in shocked vanadium. A phase transition at ∼60.5 GPa that may be the body-centered cubic (BCC) to rhombohedral structure was identified by the discontinuity of the sound velocity against shock pressure. This transition pressure is consistent with the results from diamond anvil cell (DAC) experiments and first-principle calculations. However, present results show that the rhombohedral phase has higher strength and shear modulus than the BCC phase, which is contrast to the findings from DAC experiments and theoretical work.

Plate impact experiments in backward-impact geometry were performed on bismuth (Bi) in the pressure range of 11–70 GPa. The bismuth sample used as flyer impacted a LiF window, and the impact velocity and particle velocity at interface were simultaneously measured by a distance interferometer system for any reflector. Hugoniot and sound velocity data were extracted from the observed particle velocity profiles. The obtained plot of shock velocity (D) versus particle velocity (u) showed a discontinuity at u ≈ 0.9 km/s, corresponding to a pressure of ∼27 GPa. Furthermore, plate impact experiments in forward-impact geometry were conducted to measure sound velocities of bismuth. The extracted sound velocity data from backward and forward-impact experiments showed a transition from longitudinal to bulk sound velocity (18 GPa–27 GPa), and the pressure of transition to bulk sound velocity is consistent with the pressure of D-u knee at u ≈ 0.9 km/s. This D-u discontinuity at u ≈ 0.9 km/s is attributed to shock induced melting, and the onset and completion of melting on bismuth Hugoniot are estimated around 18 GPa and 27 GPa, respectively.

Equations of state of metals are important issues in earth science and planetary science. A major limitation of them is the lack of experimental data for determining pressure-volume and temperature of shocked metal simultaneously. By measuring them in a single experiment, a major source of systematic error is eliminated in determining from which shock pressure release pressure originates. Hence, a non-contact fast optical method was developed and demonstrated to simultaneously measure a Hugoniot pressure-volume (P(H)-V(H)) point and interfacial temperature T(R) on the release of Hugoniot pressure (P(R)) for preheated metals up to 1000 K. Experimental details in our investigation are (i) a Ni-Cr resistance coil field placed around the metal specimen to generate a controllable and stable heating source, (ii) a fiber-optic probe with an optical lens coupling system and optical pyrometer with ns time resolution to carry out non-contact fast optical measurements for determining P(H)-V(H) and T(R). The shock response of preheated tantalum (Ta) at 773 K was investigated in our work. Measured data for shock velocity versus particle velocity at an initial state of room temperature was in agreement with previous shock compression results, while the measured shock data between 248 and 307 GPa initially heated to 773 K were below the Hugoniot evaluation from its off-Hugoniot states. Obtained interfacial temperatures on release of Hugoniot pressures (100-170 GPa) were in agreement with shock-melting points at initial ambient condition and ab initio calculations of melting curve. It indicates a good consistency for shock melting data of Ta at different initial temperatures. Our combined diagnostics for Hugoniot and temperature provides an important approach for studying EOS and the temperature effect of shocked metals. In particular, our measured melting temperatures of Ta address the current controversy about the difference by more than a factor of 2 between the melting temperatures measured under shock and those measured in a laser-heated diamond anvil cell at ∼100 GPa.

The high-pressure melting curve of tantalum (Ta) has been the center of a long-standing controversy. Sound velocities along the Hugoniot curve are expected to help in understanding this issue. To that end, we employed a direct-reverse impact technique and velocity interferometry to determine sound velocities of Ta under shock compression in the 10-110 GPa pressure range. The measured longitudinal sound velocities show an obvious kink at ~60 GPa as a function of shock pressure, while the bulk sound velocities show no discontinuity. Such observation could result from a structural transformation associated with a negligible volume change or an electronic topological transition.

Shock wave compression experiments were conducted on a Zr-based bulk metallic glass (BMG, Zr51Ti5Ni10Cu25Al9 in atomic percent) up to 110 GPa. Time-resolved free-surface velocity profiles were measured in a shock stress range from 18 to 28 GPa with velocity interferometer techniques. The shock Hugoniot data in a shock stress range from 53 to 110 GPa were obtained by using electric pin techniques. The time-resolved wave profiles showed a distinct two-wave structure consisting of an elastic precursor followed by a plastic wave. Based on the obtained wave profiles, the Hugoniot elastic limits were determined to be 6.9 to 9.6 GPa. The shock wave velocity (Ds) vs. particle velocity (up) Hugoniot data in a shock stress range from 18 to 110 GPa were linearly fitted by Ds=(4.241±0.035)+(1.015±0.024)up. No evidence of phase transition was found in the performed shock experiments of the Zr-based BMG.

Unloading wave profile measurements using the velocity interference system for any reflector technique were performed on LY12 Al over shock stress ranging from ∼20to∼100GPa, from which longitudinal and bulk sound velocities along the quasielastic release path were evaluated. Based on the intrinsic relations under uniaxial strain conditions, the effective shear modulus defined by Cochran and Guinan (Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Report No. UCID-17105, 1976) was correlated to the longitudinal and bulk sound velocities. Results show that the effective shear modulus calculated from the measured sound velocities decreases rapidly with the release stress and can be expressed approximately as a linear function of the release stress; the slope of the linear function depends the initial shock-loading stress. By using this linear function of the effective shear modulus, the performed numerical simulations well reproduce the release wave traces of the Al alloys observed in the present work and reported in l...

Longitudinal and bulk sound velocities of tin in the shock pressure range from ∼25to∼80GPa were measured using a direct reverse-impact method. The bct to bcc phase transition along the Hugoniot was identified by the discontinuity of the longitudinal sound velocity against shock pressure. The incipient melting on the Hugoniot was also revealed by the transition from longitudinal to bulk sound velocity. The shock pressure for bct-bcc phase transition and incipient melting were constrained to be ∼35 and ∼45GPa, respectively. It is inferred that the bcc phase possesses higher shear modulus than the bct phase.

The shock compression response of nano-Fe powder (∼25nm) pressed to ∼35% theoretical maximum density was determined based on shock stress and wave velocity measurements using piezoelectric stress gauges. The obtained data show a discontinuity in shock wave velocity plotted against particle velocity and an inflexion in specific volume from compression to expansion with increasing shock stress. It is found that the Hugoniot of 25nm Fe powder cannot be fully described using analytical models that are otherwise capable of predicting the Hugoniot of micron-sized powder or highly porous materials.

The Hugoniot of preheated metal is related with its principal Hugoniot by means of the Gruneisen equation of state and the Rankine-Hugoniot equation. Modeling calculations show that the preheating lowers to a certain extent the shock impedance. The evaluated Hugoniot of preheated Mo is comparable with the available experimental data. Hugoniots of 6061-T6 Al flyers of different preheat temperatures in reported Hugoniot experiments on Z pinch [Knudson et al., J. Appl. Phys. 94, 4420 (2003)] are calculated, and the determined shock states of 6061-T6 Al using the impedance-match method are consistent with the reported results. This approach allows a reasonable evaluation for Hugoniot of the preheated metal mainly from its principal Hugoniot.

Based on the model that the high-pressure melting temperatures of metals approximately equal the experimentally measured interface temperatures between the metallic plate sample and the transparent window when shock- and/or release-induced melting falls into the mixed phase region, we proposed a method to determine the melting temperatures of metals under megabars of shock compression. Experiments were conducted by using the oxygen-free high-conductivity copper, and pure iron plate sample with single-crystal lithium fluoride windows. Results showed that the measured melting temperatures are in good agreement with reported theoretical calculations.