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Although nickel-based superalloys are widely used in the industry, their response to shock loading is still rarely investigated. Here, the impacts of laser-launched flyers were used to study the dynamic behavior of a Rene 65 superalloy under shock pressures of about 10 GPa at very high strain rates of about 106 s−1. Three types of samples, wrought or additively manufactured (laser powder bed fusion) and subjected to different heat treatment conditions, were investigated. These experiments allowed the measurement of the Hugoniot elastic limit (compressive yield strength) and the spall (tensile) strength, both in upper ranges compared with the most common metals. Post-recovery analyses involving various techniques provided insight into dynamic failure with a combination of transgranular ductile fracture and intergranular cracks with preferential nucleation sites, strongly dependent on the different microstructures related to fabrication routes and thermal treatments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Laser-driven shock experiments were conducted at a synchrotron facility to investigate the dynamic response of polyurethane foam. These experiments were coupled to in situ x-ray imaging to radiograph foam deformations and to determine the propagation velocity of stress waves. To increase the amplitude and the duration of the pressure load generated by the laser–matter interaction, the front surface of the target was covered with a confining layer (water and BK7 glass). Preliminary calibration tests involving time-resolved velocity measurements were performed to calculate the ablation pressure on the front surface of foam samples. The calculated pressure loads were used as input data for hydrodynamic simulations, in which the foam is modeled using a homogeneous porous macroscopic model, and model predictions were compared with experimental results. A fair consistency was found for most experiments, while for the others, an overestimation of the applied pressure is suspected, likely due to a laser breakdown within the confining medium. Finally, post-shot x-ray tomography of the recovered samples showed permanent deformation of the foam, unlike what was observed under quasi-static compression, and revealed heavy damage in the vicinity of the loaded zone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When a shock wave of several tens of GPa breaks out at a free surface, a material is ejected ahead of this surface. The amount and velocity of such ejecta depend on the breakout pressure, state of the released material (solid, liquid, or mixed), whether the shockwave is supported or unsupported, and the initial geometrical perturbation (or roughness) of the free surface. If surface defects consist of small grooves, pits, or scratches, material ejection occurs in the form of jets breaking up into tiny particles (so-called microjetting), with jet tip velocities up to several times higher than the free surface velocity. The laser-based experiments presented in this paper focus on microjetting in shock-melted tin with periodic surface perturbations. Several complementary diagnostics are combined to measure the velocity and mass of ejecta during the early stages of the jetting process. One relevant advancement is the use of ps-laser x-ray radiography to probe the density of the ejecta in distinct jets a few tens of μ m -wide. The effects of the depth and wavelength of the initial perturbation are investigated in both linear and near-linear growth regimes. The results are compared with predictions derived from the Richtmyer–Meshkov Instability theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Material ejection upon the breakout of a shock wave at a rough surface is a key safety issue for various applications, including pyrotechnics and inertial confinement fusion. For a few years, we have used laser driven compression to investigate microjetting from calibrated grooves in the free surface of shock-loaded specimens. Fast transverse optical shadowgraphy, time-resolved measurements of planar surface and jet tip velocities, and post-shock analysis of some recovered material have provided data over ranges of small spatial and temporal scales, short loading pulses (ns-order), and extremely high strain rates. In the new experiment reported here, picosecond laser irradiation of a thin copper wire generates an ultrashort x-ray burst which is used to radiograph the microjets expanding from plane wedged-shape grooves in tin and copper samples shock-loaded by a longer, nanosecond laser pulse. Such ultrafast radiography provides estimates of the density gradients along the jets and of the total ejected mass at different times after shock breakout. Furthermore, it reveals regions of low density inside the samples deep beneath the grooves, associated with subsurface damage due to tension induced by the interaction of rarefaction waves. Thus, combining this x-ray probe with our former experimental techniques provides a more complete insight into the physics of microjetting at very high loading rates and the ballistic properties of the resulting ejecta. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The adhesion of thin silver joints sintered on metallic substrates is a major issue for their potential use in power electronics modules. Here, we explore how laser shock-induced spallation can provide a way to study this adhesion. Due to wave interactions inside the shock-loaded assembly, dynamic tensile stresses are induced near the copper-silver interface, resulting in partial or full removal of the silver layer. In order to investigate the effects of aging on the interface strength, experiments are performed on both as-sintered and aged samples. Time-resolved measurements of the free surface velocity provide information on wave dynamics and interface failure, but finite-element simulations show that inferring a quantitative value of the bonding strength from these data is still challenging. Nevertheless, post-recovery observations provide original insight into the debonding process, including some complex effects of aging, consistent with trends reported in the literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a major failure process in materials subjected to dynamic loading, spall fracture is one of the most widely studied issues in shock physics. To investigate its dependence on the microstructure, including both initial and shock-induced features, laser shock experiments were performed on single crystal magnesium. Shock loading was applied in directions parallel and perpendicular to the c-axis of the crystals. Both the spall strength and the fracture surface morphology are found to depend on the direction of the shock application with respect to crystal orientations. The results complement data obtained previously over ranges of lower strain rates. A detailed analysis of the residual microstructure and crack patterns in the recovered samples shows strong correlations between damage localization and twins, both pre-existing and shock-induced. Thus, cracks match specific twinning directions, which is discussed on the basis of deformation mechanisms reported under quasi-static loading conditions, either prismatic slip or twinning depending on local orientations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a material subjected to high dynamic compression, the breakout of a shock wave at a rough free surface can lead to the ejection of high velocity debris. Anticipating the ballistic properties of such debris is a key safety issue in many applications involving shock loading, including pyrotechnics and inertial confinement fusion experiments. In this paper, we use laser driven shocks to investigate particle ejection from calibrated grooves of micrometric dimensions and approximately sinusoidal profile in tin samples, with various boundary conditions at the groove edges, including single groove and periodic patterns. Fast transverse shadowgraphy provides ejection velocities after shock breakout. They are found to depend not only on the groove depth and wavelength, as predicted theoretically and already observed in the past, but also, unexpectedly, on the edge conditions, with a jet tip velocity significantly lower in the case of a single groove than behind a periodic pattern. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mechanical behavior of materials under extreme conditions can be investigated by using laser driven shocks. Actually, femtosecond (fs) technologies allow to reach strong pressures over a very fast duration. This work is dedicated to characterize metals behavior in this ultra-short mode, (aluminum, tantalum), leading to an extreme dynamic solicitation in the target (>107s−1). The study includes the validation of experimental results obtained on the LULI 100TW facility by comparison with numerical model. Three modeling steps are considered. First, we characterize the pressure loading resulting from the fs laser-matter interaction, different from what happens in the classical nanosecond regime. Then, the shock wave propagation is observed through the target and particularly its pressure decay, strong in this regime. The elastic-plastic influence on the shock attenuation is discussed, particularly for tantalum which has a high elastic limit. Dynamic damage appears with spallation. Experimentally, spallation is characterized by VISAR measurements and post-test observations. Shots with different thicknesses have been carried out to determine the damage properties in function of strain rate. We show in this work that a simple instantaneous rupture criterion is not sufficient to reproduce the damage induced in the sample. Only the Kanel model, which includes damage kinetics, is able to reproduce experimental data (VISAR measurements, spall thickness). A generalization of this model to any strain rate can be performed by confronting these results to other shock generators data (ns laser driven shocks, plate impacts). One remarkable result is that every Kanel parameters follows a power law with strain rate in dynamic regime (105 to 108s−1) for both aluminum and tantalum.

Spallation induced by a laser driven shock has been studied for two decades on time scales of nanosecond order. The evolution of laser technologies now provides access to sources whose pulse duration is under the picosecond, corresponding to characteristic times of numerous microscopic phenomena. In this ultra-short irradiation regime, spallation experiments have been performed with time-resolved measurements of the free surface. In this solicitation type, damage occurs at small scale, leading to micrometric spalls. The VISAR measurements have been complemented with post-test observations and microtomography and compared with numerical simulations to check the models consistency of the laser-matter interaction, shock wave propagation and the dynamic damage criteria ability to reproduce spallation at this ultra-short time scale, inducing strong tensile stress states at very high strain rates.

Laser driven shocks allow studying the dynamic behaviour of condensed matter over small spatial (∼μm to mm-order) and temporal (∼ps to ns-order) scales, at extremely high strain rates (∼107 s−1). They can be used to test the predictive capability of constitutive models over wide ranges of loading pressures and pulse durations. We present experimental results in laser shock-loaded metals (iron, gold, tin), based on various, complementary techniques including time-resolved velocity measurements, transverse shadowgraphy and post-shock analyses of recovered samples. The data are used to investigate several shock wave processes such as yielding and polymorphic transformations, melting, spall fracture and dynamic fragmentation in both solid and melted states. On the basis of comparisons with numerical simulations, the abilities and limitations of several models are briefly discussed.

The breakout and reflection of a strong shock-wave upon the free surface of a metallic sample may lead to ejecta production of many types. Spall fracture is due to tensile stresses which result from the interaction of the incident and the reflected release waves. When the sample remains in solid state, one or several layers of finite thickness, called spalls, can be created and ejected. When melting is initiated during shock-wave propagation, tensile stresses are generated in a liquid medium and lead to the creation of an expanding cloud of liquid debris. This phenomenon, sometimes referred to as microspalling, consists in a dynamic fragmentation process in the melted material. The present paper is devoted to the experimental investigation of the transition from spall fracture in solid state to the micro-spalling process in molten metals. This study, realized on tin and on iron, involves different shock generators (gas gun, pulsed laser…) and diagnostics (velocimetry, high-speed optical shadowgraphy, fragments recovery).

When a shock wave propagating in a solid sample reflects from a free surface, geometrical effects predominantly governed by the roughness and defects of that surface may lead to the ejection of tiny jets that may breakup into high velocity, approximately micrometer-size fragments. This process referred to as microjetting is a major safety issue for engineering applications such as pyrotechnics or armour design. Thus, it has been widely studied both experimentally, under explosive and impact loading, and theoretically. In this paper, microjetting is investigated in the specific loading conditions associated to laser shocks: very short duration of pressure application, very high strain rates, small spatial scales. Material ejection from triangular grooves in the free surface of various metallic samples is studied by combining transverse optical shadowgraphy and time-resolved velocity measurements. The influences of the main parameters (groove angle, shock pressure, nature of the metal) on jet formation and ejection velocity are quantified, and the results are compared to theoretical estimates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although shock-induced fracture and fragmentation of materials at low temperatures are issues of considerable interest for many applications, such as the protection from hypervelocity impacts in outer space or the ongoing development of high energy laser facilities aiming at inertial confinement fusion, little data can be found on the subject yet. In this paper, laser driven shock experiments are performed on gold and aluminum samples at both ambient and cryogenic (down to about 30 K) temperatures. Complementary techniques including transverse optical shadowgraphy, time-resolved velocity measurements, and post-recovery analyses are combined to assess the effects of target temperature upon the processes of microjetting, spallation, and dynamic punching, which are expected to govern fragments generation and ejection. The results indicate that cryogenic temperature tends to reduce the resistance to tensile and shear stresses, promotes brittle fracture, and leads to slightly higher fragments ejection velocities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dynamic fragmentation of shock-loaded metals is an issue of considerable importance for both basic science and a variety of technological applications, such as inertial confinement fusion, which involves high energy laser irradiation of thin metallic shells. In this context, we present an experimental and numerical study of debris ejection in laser shock-loaded metallic targets (aluminum, gold, and iron) where fragmentation is mainly governed by spall fracture occurring upon tensile loading due to wave interactions inside the sample. Experimental results consist of time-resolved velocity measurements, transverse optical shadowgraphy of ejected debris, and postshock observations of targets and fragments recovered within a transparent gel of low density. They are compared to numerical computations performed with a hydrodynamic code. A correct overall consistency is obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spall damage in solid materials has been one of the most widely studied shock-induced phenomena for several decades, for both applied and basic scientific motivations. Comparatively, very little data can be found yet about spallation in liquid metals. In a recent paper, we have reported an exploratory investigation of liquid spall in tin samples melted upon laser shocks of very high intensities. Here, we present further experimental results obtained over a lower pressure range, where we focus on the transition from the ductile fracture behavior of solid tin to the cavitating spall expected above melting. This transition is clearly evidenced from both time-resolved free surface velocity measurements and post-test examination of the recovered targets. The drop in tensile strength associated with melting is evaluated from the velocity profiles. Detailed views of the fracture surfaces in the spall craters provide an insight into the cavitation process. Experimental data are compared to preliminary computations to determine the loading pressures and to assess the overall consistency of our interpretation of the results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When a metal is shocked above its melting pressure or melted on release, the tensile stresses generated upon reflection of the compressive pulse from a free surface are induced into a liquid state. Instead of the well-known spallation process observed in solid targets, cavitation is expected in the melted material, and liquid fragments are ejected from the free surface. Their size, velocity, and temperature distributions are issues of increasing interest, as well as their impact on other nearby materials, but data are limited on the subject. Here, we present an experimental study performed on tin samples subjected to high pressure laser shocks (ranging from about 50 to 200 GPa) of short duration (∼5 ns). The results include post-test observations of the ejecta recovered after impact on a polycarbonate shield and time-resolved measurements of the free surface velocity through the shield. For shock pressures below some 80 GPa, the velocity profiles are compared to the predictions of one-dimensional simulations involving a multiphase equation of state. For higher loading pressures, the emergence of the shock at the free surface produces a rapid loss of reflectivity so the particle velocity cannot be determined. In all cases, solidified fragments of tin are recovered on the shield. Their sizes, their shapes, and the induced damage depend significantly on shock pressure, and are indicative of a very wide range of ejection velocities. The data provide a basis for a phenomenological description of the process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous analyses of quartz samples recovered after being submitted to laser shocks of very short duration (nanosecond order) have shown the presence of CaCl2-like silica [T. de Rességuier, P. Berterretche, M. Hallouin, and J. P. Petitet, J. Appl. Phys. 94, 2123 (2003)]. To date, this transition has never been observed under shocks of longer duration (microsecond order) generated by explosives or plate impacts. While this phase is produced from stishovite under static compression at very high pressure (above 50 GPa) and disappears on pressure release, it is observed after low pressure laser shocks (below 5 GPa) and it is quenched to ambient conditions. The origins of these differences are still unclear. This paper presents complementary laser shock experiments involving setups to provide additional information on the influence of various shock parameters. The results suggest a direct transition from α-quartz to CaCl2-type silica following a diffusionless mechanism involving high shear strains. They also show the presence of vitreous silica characterized by an “organized” ringlike structure, and we propose that this amorphous phase is an intermediate structure between the quartz lattice and grains of the high-pressure phase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The kinetics of the phase transitions occurring in solid materials under strong compression are an issue of considerable interest, which can be studied using dynamic loading processes. Here, we investigate the phase transformation behavior of quartz under laser-induced shock compression of a very short duration (nanosecond order). Time-resolved measurements, coupled with simple computer simulations, have been used to characterize the pressure pulse induced in the samples. Recovery shots have been performed for postshock spectroscopy, that has revealed permanent structural changes of various types, depending on the experimental conditions (loading pressure, sample thickness, and initial temperature). The results, which differ notably from observations reported under quasi-static compression or longer pulsed loads (microsecond order), suggest a partial amorphization of the shocked samples, as well as the formation of a structure that can be compared to known orthorhombic high-pressure phases. They provide an insight into the early stages of the shock-induced transformation mechanisms in this widely studied material. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]