CaltechTHESIS
  A Caltech Library Service

Techniques for Strength Measurement at High Pressures and Strain-Rates using Transverse Waves

Citation

Richmond, Victoria Stolyar (2014) Techniques for Strength Measurement at High Pressures and Strain-Rates using Transverse Waves. Dissertation (Ph.D.), California Institute of Technology. doi:10.7907/SH60-5659. https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechTHESIS:01152014-115401299

Abstract

The study of the strength of a material is relevant to a variety of applications including automobile collisions, armor penetration and inertial confinement fusion. Although dynamic behavior of materials at high pressures and strain-rates has been studied extensively using plate impact experiments, the results provide measurements in one direction only. Material behavior that is dependent on strength is unaccounted for. The research in this study proposes two novel configurations to mitigate this problem.

The first configuration introduced is the oblique wedge experiment, which is comprised of a driver material, an angled target of interest and a backing material used to measure in-situ velocities. Upon impact, a shock wave is generated in the driver material. As the shock encounters the angled target, it is reflected back into the driver and transmitted into the target. Due to the angle of obliquity of the incident wave, a transverse wave is generated that allows the target to be subjected to shear while being compressed by the initial longitudinal shock such that the material does not slip. Using numerical simulations, this study shows that a variety of oblique wedge configurations can be used to study the shear response of materials and this can be extended to strength measurement as well. Experiments were performed on an oblique wedge setup with a copper impactor, polymethylmethacrylate driver, aluminum 6061-t6 target, and a lithium fluoride window. Particle velocities were measured using laser interferometry and results agree well with the simulations.

The second novel configuration is the y-cut quartz sandwich design, which uses the anisotropic properties of y-cut quartz to generate a shear wave that is transmitted into a thin sample. By using an anvil material to back the thin sample, particle velocities measured at the rear surface of the backing plate can be implemented to calculate the shear stress in the material and subsequently the strength. Numerical simulations were conducted to show that this configuration has the ability to measure the strength for a variety of materials.

Item Type:Thesis (Dissertation (Ph.D.))
Subject Keywords:Strength, High Pressure, High Strain Rate, Shock Physics, Plate Impacts, Pressure Shear
Degree Grantor:California Institute of Technology
Division:Engineering and Applied Science
Major Option:Space Engineering
Awards:Charles D. Babcock Award, 2011
Thesis Availability:Public (worldwide access)
Research Advisor(s):
  • Ravichandran, Guruswami
Group:GALCIT
Thesis Committee:
  • Meiron, Daniel I. (chair)
  • Bhattacharya, Kaushik
  • Kochmann, Dennis M.
  • Ravichandran, Guruswami
Defense Date:9 December 2013
Record Number:CaltechTHESIS:01152014-115401299
Persistent URL:https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechTHESIS:01152014-115401299
DOI:10.7907/SH60-5659
Default Usage Policy:No commercial reproduction, distribution, display or performance rights in this work are provided.
ID Code:8051
Collection:CaltechTHESIS
Deposited By: Victoria Richmond
Deposited On:09 Jan 2015 16:49
Last Modified:02 Nov 2021 19:50

Thesis Files

[img]
Preview
PDF - Final Version
See Usage Policy.

33MB

Repository Staff Only: item control page