Orientation dependence in molecular dynamics simulations of shocked single crystals

We use multimillion-atom molecular dynamics simulations to study shock wave propagation in fee crystals. As shown recently, shock waves along the (100) direction form intersecting stacking faults by slippage along (111) close-packed planes at sufficiently high shock strengths. We find even more interesting behavior of shocks propagating in other low-index directions: for the (111) case, an elastic precursor separates the shock front from the slapped (plastic) region. Shock waves along the (110) direction generate a leading solitary wave train, followed (at sufficiently high shock speeds) by an elastic precursor, and then a region of complex plastic deformation.