Steady Shock Waves in Composite Materials

Abstract

The shock wave generated by a planar impact of a flyer plate and propagated along the direction of the fibers of a composite was studied. The sample composite used in the experiments was made of unidirectional aluminum fibers cast in an Epoxy matrix. Both the shock-wave velocity and the free surface velocity were measured by means of an optical technique. The shock front in the composite was found to be steady. The results of the measured Hugoniot also give a satisfactory comparison with those obtained from an analysis proposed earlier. The observation of a steady shock in the present work is significant in treating problems involving composite materials.