Femtosecond Visualization of hcp-Iron Strength and Plasticity under Shock Compression.

Iron is a key constituent of planets and an important technological material. Here, we combine in situ ultrafast x-ray diffraction with laser-induced shock compression experiments on Fe up to 187(10) GPa and 4070(285) K at 10^{8} s^{-1} in strain rate to study the plasticity of hexagonal-close-packed (hcp)-Fe under extreme loading states. {101[over ¯]2} deformation twinning controls the polycrystalline Fe microstructures and occurs within 1 ns, highlighting the fundamental role of twinning in hcp polycrystals deformation at high strain rates. The measured deviatoric stress initially increases to a significant elastic overshoot before the onset of flow, attributed to a slower defect nucleation and mobility. The initial yield strength of materials deformed at high strain rates is thus several times larger than their longer-term flow strength. These observations illustrate how time-resolved ultrafast studies can reveal distinctive plastic behavior in materials under extreme environments.

Ultrafast chemical reactions in shocked nitromethane probed with dynamic ellipsometry and transient absorption spectroscopy.

Initiation of the shock driven chemical reactions and detonation of nitromethane (NM) can be sensitized by the addition of a weak base; however, the chemical mechanism by which sensitization occurs remains unclear. We investigated the shock driven chemical reaction in NM and in NM sensitized with diethylenetriamine (DETA), using a sustained 300 ps shock driven by a chirped Ti:sapphire laser. We measured the solutions' visible transient absorption spectra and measured interface particle and shock velocities of the nitromethane solutions using ultrafast dynamic ellipsometry. We found there to be a volume-increasing reaction that takes place around interface particle velocity up = 2.4 km/s and up = 2.2 km/s for neat NM and NM with 5% DETA, respectively. The rate at which transient absorption increases is similar in all mixtures, but with decreasing induction times for solutions with increasing DETA concentrations. This result supports the hypothesis that the chemical reaction mechanisms for shocked NM and NM with DETA are the same. Data from shocked NM are compared to literature experimental and theoretical data.

Shock Hugoniot equations of state for binary ideal (toluene/fluorobenzene) and nonideal (ethanol/water) liquid mixtures.

Laser shock Hugoniot data were obtained using ultrafast dynamic ellipsometry (UDE) for both nonideal (ethanol/water solutions with mole percent χ(ethanol) = 0%, 3.4%, 5.4%, 7.5%, 9.7%, 11%, 18%, 33%, 56%, 100%) and ideal liquid mixtures (toluene/fluorobenzene solutions with mole percent χ(toluene) = 0%, 26.0%, 49.1%, 74.9%, 100%). The shock and particle velocities obtained from the UDE data were compared to the universal liquid Hugoniot (ULH) and to literature shock (plate impact) data where available. It was found that the water UDE data fit to a ULH-form equation suggests an intercept of 1.32 km/s, lower than the literature ambient sound speed in water of 1.495 km/s (Mijakovic et al. J. Mol. Liq. 2011, 164, 66-73). Similarly, the ethanol UDE data fit to a ULH-form equation suggests an intercept of 1.45 km/s, which lies above the literature ambient sound speed in ethanol of 1.14 km/s. Both the literature plate impact and UDE Hugoniot data lie below the ULH for water. Likewise, the literature plate impact and UDE Hugoniot data lie above the ULH for ethanol. The UDE Hugoniot data for the mixtures of water and ethanol cross the predictions of the ULH near the same concentration where the sound speed reaches a maximum. In contrast, the UDE data from the ideal liquids and their mixtures are well behaved and agree with ULH predictions across the concentration range. The deviations of the nonideal ethanol/water data from the ULH suggest that complex hydrogen bonding networks in ethanol/water mixtures alter the compressibility of the mixture.

MILK: a Python scripting interface to MAUD for automation of Rietveld analysis.

Modern diffraction experiments (e.g. in situ parametric studies) present scientists with many diffraction patterns to analyze. Interactive analyses via graphical user interfaces tend to slow down obtaining quantitative results such as lattice parameters and phase fractions. Furthermore, Rietveld refinement strategies (i.e. the parameter turn-on-off sequences) tend to be instrument specific or even specific to a given dataset, such that selection of strategies can become a bottleneck for efficient data analysis. Managing multi-histogram datasets such as from multi-bank neutron diffractometers or caked 2D synchrotron data presents additional challenges due to the large number of histogram-specific parameters. To overcome these challenges in the Rietveld software Material Analysis Using Diffraction (MAUD), the MAUD Interface Language Kit (MILK) is developed along with an updated text batch interface for MAUD. The open-source software MILK is computer-platform independent and is packaged as a Python library that interfaces with MAUD. Using MILK, model selection (e.g. various texture or peak-broadening models), Rietveld parameter manipulation and distributed parallel batch computing can be performed through a high-level Python interface. A high-level interface enables analysis workflows to be easily programmed, shared and applied to large datasets, and external tools to be integrated with MAUD. Through modification to the MAUD batch interface, plot and data exports have been improved. The resulting hierarchical folders from Rietveld refinements with MILK are compatible with Cinema: Debye-Scherrer, a tool for visualizing and inspecting the results of multi-parameter analyses of large quantities of diffraction data. In this manuscript, the combined Python scripting and visualization capability of MILK is demonstrated with a quantitative texture and phase analysis of data collected at the HIPPO neutron diffractometer.

High pressure phase transition and strength estimate in polycrystalline alumina during laser-driven shock compression.

Alumina (Al2O3) is an important ceramic material notable for its compressive strength and hardness. It represents one of the major oxide components of the Earth's mantle. Static compression experiments have reported evidence for phase transformations from the trigonalα-corundum phase to the orthorhombic Rh2O3(II)-type structure at ∼90 GPa, and then to the post-perovskite structure at ∼130 GPa, but these phases have yet to be directly observed under shock compression. In this work, we describe laser-driven shock compression experiments on polycrystalline alumina conducted at the Matter in Extreme Conditions endstation of the Linac Coherent Light Source. Ultrafast x-ray pulses (50 fs, 1012photons/pulse) were used to probe the atomic-level response at different times during shock propagation and subsequent pressure release. At 107 ± 8 GPa on the Hugoniot, we observe diffraction peaks that match the orthorhombic Rh2O3(II) phase with a density of 5.16 ± 0.03 g cm-3. Upon unloading, the material transforms back to theα-corundum structure. Upon release to ambient pressure, densities are lower than predicted assuming isentropic release, indicating additional lattice expansion due to plastic work heating. Using temperature values calculated from density measurements, we provide an estimate of alumina's strength on release from shock compression.