Molecular dynamics simulations of shock-induced plasticity in tantalum

D Tramontina and P Erhart and T Germann and J Hawreliak and A Higginbotham and N Park and R Ravelo and A Stukowski and M Suggit and YZ Tang and J Wark and E Bringa, HIGH ENERGY DENSITY PHYSICS, 10, 9-15 (2014).

DOI: 10.1016/j.hedp.2013.10.007

We present Non-Equilibrium Molecular Dynamics (NEMD) simulations of shock wave compression along the 001 direction in monocrystalline Tantalum, including pre-existing defects which act as dislocation sources. We use a new Embedded Atom Model (EAM) potential and study the nucleation and evolution of dislocations as a function of shock pressure and loading rise time. We find that the flow stress and dislocation density behind the shock front depend on strain rate. We find excellent agreement with recent experimental results on strength and recovered microstructure, which goes from dislocations to a mixture of dislocations and twins, to twinning dominated response, as the shock pressure increases. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

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