Tantalum and vanadium response to shock-wave loading at normal and elevated temperatures. Non-monotonous decay of the elastic wave in vanadium

The evolution of the elastic precursor waves in pure tantalum and vanadium is presented at normal and elevated temperatures over propagation distances that ranged from 0.125 to 3 mm. Measurements were performed in order to obtain experimental data about the temperature-rate dependence of the yield stress of the two metals. With increasing propagation distance, the rate of the decay of elastic precursor decreases, as the shear stress in the elastic precursor wave approaches the Peierls stresses. It has been found that the decay, with propagation distance, of the post-spike minimum of the spike-like elastic precursor wave in vanadium is essentially non-monotonous. The experiments also revealed that annealing of tantalum and vanadium increases their Hugoniot elastic limit. The anomalous increase of the high strain rate yield stress with temperature, as observed earlier for some FCC and HCP metals, has not been detected in these measurements.