Determination of dynamic shear strength of 2024 aluminum alloy under shock compression

A series of plate impact shock-reshock and shock-release experiments were conducted by using an one-stage light gas gun to determine the critical shear strength of the 2024 aluminum alloy under shock compression levels ranging from 0.66 to 3.05 GPa in the present study. In the experiments, a dual flyer plate assembly, i.e., the 2024 aluminum alloy flyer backed either by a brass plate or a PMMA plate, was utilized to produce reshock or release wave. The stress profiles of uniaxial plane strain wave propagation in the 2024 aluminum alloy sample under different pre-compressed states were measured by the embedded stress gauges. The stress-strain data at corresponding states were then calculated by a Lagrangian analysis method named as path line method. The critical shear strengths at different stress levels were finally obtained by self-consistent method. The results show that, at the low shock compression level (0.66 to 3.05 GPa), the critical shear strength of the 2024 aluminum alloy cannot be ignored and increases with the increasing longitudinal stress, which may be attributed to rate-dependence and/or pressure dependent yield behavior of the 2024 aluminum alloy.