Hugoniot Measurements for Laser-Generated Shock Waves in Aluminum

Abstract

We report on the first experimental measurement of principal Hugoniots in aluminum for shock pressures of 0.3-12 Mbar generated by laser-driven ablation. These were derived from independent measurements of the shock speed, shock pressure, and shock-heated target temperature. The results showed excellent agreement with LASNEX simulations and with calculations using SESAME equation-of-state data. More importantly, the results indicated that the shock speed and temperature Hugoniot may provide useful equation-of-state studies in laser-generated shock-wave experiments.