Publications
The response of ceramic powders to high-level quasi-isentropic dynamic loads
The pulsed-power Z machine, in an isentropic compression experiment (ICE) mode, will allow the dynamic characterization of porous materials - here various ceramic powders, e.g., Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}, WC, ZrO{sub 2} - at roughly half their solid densities. A cylindrical configuration can provide megabar-level loads on an annulus of the sample material. Data will be provided by velocity interferometers that measure free-surface (or possibly interface) particle velocities. Differing sample thicknesses using stepped or conical geometries yield experimental efficiency by allowing multiple data records on single shots. With the p/{alpha} model for porous materials, the one-dimensional Lagrangian hydrocode WONDY provides the needed analyses. Based on static data, both power-law and quadratic crush curves are employed. Within the model constraints, we suggest that the most important parameter for characterizing the material is the crush strength, p{sub s}. With adequate sample thicknesses, the planned velocity measurements differentiate among the various assumptions for p{sub s}.