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Dynamic plasticity and failure of high-purity alumina under shock loading

Nature Materials volume 5, pages 614–618 (2006)Cite this article

Abstract

Most high-performance ceramics subjected to shock loading can withstand high failure strength and exhibit significant inelastic strain that cannot be achieved under conventional loading conditions. The transition point from elastic to inelastic response prior to failure during shock loading, known as the Hugoniot elastic limit (HEL), has been widely used as an important parameter in the characterization of the dynamic mechanical properties of ceramics1,2,3,4. Nevertheless, the underlying micromechanisms that control HEL have been debated for many years. Here we show high-resolution electron microscopy of high-purity alumina, soft-recovered from shock-loading experiments. The change of deformation behaviour from dislocation activity in the vicinity of grain boundaries to deformation twinning has been observed as the impact pressures increase from below, to above HEL. The evolution of deformation modes leads to the conversion of material failure from an intergranular mode to transgranular cleavage, in which twinning interfaces serve as the preferred cleavage planes.

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Figure 1: Fractography and microstructure of AD995 alumina fragments produced by plate impact at the pressure of 6 GPa.
Figure 2: Fractography of AD995 alumina fragments after shock loading at 7.8 GPa.
Figure 3: Deformation twins in AD995 alumina fragments after shock loading at 7.8 GPa.
Figure 4: Failure mechanisms of the polycrystalline alumina under shock loading.

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Acknowledgements

Research was sponsored by the Grant-in-Aid-A, the Japan Society for Promotion of Science (JSPS) through Tohoku University and by the US Army Research Laboratory through Johns Hopkins University. The views and conclusions contained in this document are those of the authors and should not be interpreted as representing the official policies, either expressed or implied, of the Army Research Laboratory or the US Government. The US Government is authorized to reproduce and distribute reprints for government purposes notwithstanding any copyright notation hereon.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Materials Research, Tohoku University, Sendai, 980-8577, Japan

    M. W. Chen

  2. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, 21218, USA

    M. W. Chen

  3. US Army Research Laboratory, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, 21005, USA

    J. W. McCauley & D. P. Dandekar

  4. University of Manchester, PO Box 88, Sackville Street, Manchester, M60 1QD, UK

    N. K. Bourne

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Correspondence to M. W. Chen.

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Chen, M., McCauley, J., Dandekar, D. et al. Dynamic plasticity and failure of high-purity alumina under shock loading. Nature Mater 5, 614–618 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1038/nmat1689

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