Dislocation mechanisms for stress relaxation in shocked LiF

Abstract

A study of shock wave propagation along the 〈100〉 direction in LiF single crystals is presented. Plate impact experiments were conducted to produce elastic impact stresses of approximately 29 kbar. Stress time profiles at the impact surface and rear surface for thicknesses up to 3.2 mm were observed. Experiments were done for two impurity concentrations and three different heat treatments. Material characterization to supplement the shock data was provided by quasistatic yield stress measurements, dielectric relaxation data, initial dislocation density counts, and spectrographic analysis. Elastic wave attenuation is strongly influenced by both Mg⁺⁺ impurities and heat treatments. Impurity clustering generally reduces the rate of precursor decay. The plastic strain rate at the elastic shock front was computed from the data by a near−exact method which incorporates material nonlinearities. Beyond the first 1 or 2 mm of propagation, significant contributions to stress decay arise from overtaking by relief waves. Application of dislocation theory reveals dislocation densities to be approximately 3 orders of magnitude larger than grown−in dislocations, at least in the region of rapid stress decay. Present analysis contradicts the idea of regenerative multiplication of dislocations causing this large increase in density. A model for heterogeneous nucleation of dislocation based on an energy criterion is proposed which appears to be well suited for explaining large increases in dislocation densities. The present data suggest an applied shear stress of 3−5 kbar as the lower bound at which dislocations can nucleate at heterogeneities present in our crystals. Better material characterization concerning impurity clusters is needed to consider the quantitative aspects of rate and magnitude of heterogeneous nucleation. The mechanism for stress decay in the very soft LiF crystals is still not well understood.