Experimental study of dynamic fragmentation of shockloaded metals below and above melting

Abstract

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).