Behaviour of metals at ultra-high strain rate by using femtosecond laser shockwaves

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.