STUDIES OF DENSITY DISTRIBUTIONS IN ONE-DIMENSIONAL SHOCK-INDUCED DEBRIS CLOUDS

The vaporization of target and projectile materials in hypervelocity impact events is known to substantially influence target interaction effects. In this paper, two experimental techniques are presented for studying shock-induced vaporization for one-dimensional motion. One uses velocity interferometry to measure the motion history produced when a one-dimensional vapor cloud stagnates against a laser window. The other employs fast radiography to measure the density distributions in one-dimensional vapor clouds. Data obtained for shock-induced vaporization in lead and cadmium with these techniques have been compared to computer simulations, which indicate (1) good agreement for small amounts of vapor and for small propagation distances and (2) increasing disagreement as the degree of vaporization increases. These results suggest that either diffusing flow between the vapor and liquid phases occurs under these conditions, or that vaporization kinetics are important. © 1990.